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Webinar Update
Webinar W005 on the AI Skills Crisis was completed on Saturday 30 May 2026. The video on this topic will be uploaded soon on YouTube channel @AIGrandad999.alanross and to our 10 language-specific channels (e.g. @AIGrandad999.alanross.Spanish, @AIGrandad999.alanross.Hindi, etc.) where we are in the process of uploading videos on many other important topics of interest to those in the developing world. These videos show how you can not only survive but thrive when the AI Tsunami hits your country and how your countries can prepare to minimise problems and maximise benefits. We encourage you to view and share these with your networks and ask them to visit and subscribe to the relevant language channels so they can be notified every time a new video is uploaded.
Our next free webinar, W006, is planned for Saturday 20 June on the topic: “The Brain Drain Crisis – Keeping AI Talent at Home.” This will highlight current trends and what some countries are doing to retain talent and to attract the diaspora back home to help build their countries. It also shows the major opportunities for AI academies and AI entrepreneurs and why this is an issue requiring urgent government attention.
Global Policy & Development
1. WORLD BANK LAUNCHES LANDMARK “DECODING AI FOR DEVELOPMENT” REPORT
The World Bank recently released the concept paper outlining its World Development Report 2026: Decoding AI for Development — the most comprehensive analysis yet of how artificial intelligence will reshape economies and societies in low- and middle-income countries. The report will investigate AI as a general-purpose technology and assess the best policy choices for developing nations to leverage benefits while managing risks. Key findings: AI has genuine potential to help developing countries leapfrog traditional development barriers - improving credit access, filling skills gaps in healthcare and education, and optimising production and distribution. However, the report also warns that without appropriate investment in digital infrastructure, workforce training, and institutional governance, AI risks widening the gap between high- and lower-income countries rather than closing it. AI could close off the pathway through clerical and administrative work that has historically provided routes to decent employment, particularly for women and young workers.
Why this matters and opportunities for AI academies: This report will be the single most important policy document of 2026 for AI education advocates. WAAA academies should cite this concept paper and report in every conversation with Governments and funders about the urgency of building AI teaching capacity. The evidence is now authoritative: training people to work with AI — not just passively receive it — is the critical intervention. Academies that can demonstrate they are part of the solution to this challenge will find a receptive policy audience in every LMIC government.
Global / Developing World Adoption
2. CHATGPT REACHES ONE BILLION MONTHLY USERS — GROWTH FASTEST IN LOW-INCOME COUNTRIES
ChatGPT crossed one billion monthly active users this week — becoming the fastest application in history to reach this milestone, surpassing the early growth curves of Google Maps, TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. Critically for AI Academies, AI adoption growth in the lowest-income countries has been more than four times faster than in the highest-income countries. The Philippines ranked sixth globally in ChatGPT adoption, with over 42% of internet users having used the tool in the past month. This confirms that AI tools are no longer confined to wealthy, technologically advanced populations — they are spreading rapidly across the developing world.
Why this matters and opportunities for AI academies: The students arriving at your academy this year already have AI tools in their pockets. The question is no longer whether your graduates will encounter AI - they already are. The question is whether your academy is equipping them to use AI critically, ethically and productively. AI literacy education is now a fundamental component of any modern curriculum in any LMI, and you need to get your government to support mass training.
Source: Reuters / American Bazaar Online |
americanbazaaronline.com
Africa / Kenya | Policy & Capacity Building
3. UNESCO DIGIKEN PROGRAMME: 9,000 KENYAN CIVIL SERVANTS TO BE TRAINED IN AI GOVERNANCE
UNESCO launched a call for proposals this week under its DigiKen Programme in Kenya, aiming to train up to 9,000 civil servants and public sector leaders in ethical AI, digital governance, public sector innovation, and data governance by 31 August 2026 — with a longer-term target of 20,000 trained civil servants by 2027. The programme is implemented jointly by UNESCO, UNCDF, UNEP, and UN Women in collaboration with the Government of Kenya and builds on a free UNESCO-Oxford MOOC on AI and Digital Transformation that is already available. Proposals from Kenyan institutions were due by 10 June 2026.
Why this matters and opportunities for AI academies: This is a model that is replicable across Africa and Asia. The Kenyan government’s recognition that civil servants need AI literacy training - not just technical graduates - is the kind of policy commitment that opens doors for AI academies. AI Academies in Kenya and neighbouring countries should engage with this programme directly. Members elsewhere should use this case to advocate for equivalent national programmes in their own governments.
Source: UNESCO | UNESCO Eastern Africa / Global South Opportunities
Africa & Asia | Healthcare & AI Investment
4. GATES FOUNDATION AND PARTNERS INVEST $60M TO EVALUATE AI HEALTH TOOLS IN AFRICA AND ASIA
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Novo Nordisk Foundation, and Wellcome announced a $60 million joint initiative this week: the Evidence for AI in Health (EVAH) programme. EVAH will fund locally-led evaluations of AI-enabled clinical decision support tools - tools that assist frontline health workers with triage, diagnosis, and referral - in Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. Two funding pathways are available: up to $1 million for early deployment evaluation and up to $3 million for rigorous impact evaluations of tools ready for scale. All findings will be published open access.
Why this matters and opportunities for AI academies: AI in healthcare is one of the most urgent and highest-impact application domains for developing countries - where shortages of specialist doctors make AI-assisted diagnostics a genuine lifesaving intervention. AI academies training students in health informatics, medical AI, and clinical decision support tools now have a direct pipeline to a $60 million evidence-building programme. Academies with health technology programmes should monitor EVAH’s open calls closely.
Source: Gates Foundation |
gatesfoundation.org / Wellcome
Global South | Talent & Workforce
5. AI BRAIN DRAIN CRISIS DEEPENS — A PREVIEW OF WEBINAR 6
A series of reports and analyses published this week confirm the scale of the AI talent brain drain from developing countries. India produces more AI talent than any country except China — yet also sends more AI researchers abroad than any other nation. Nigeria’s technology sector has raised urgent alarms over accelerating tech talent emigration to the UK, US, and Canada. The Global AI Brain Race Report 2026 shows that India ranks sixth globally in AI leadership, driven by strong talent metrics but constrained by infrastructure and governance. These trends confirm what our upcoming webinar will explore in depth.
Why this matters and opportunities for AI academies: AI academies are part of both the problem and the solution. Academies that produce excellent graduates risk feeding the pipeline to high-income countries if local opportunities don’t exist. Academies that build local employer partnerships, alumni networks, and entrepreneurship ecosystems are the ones that retain talent. This is the core of what Webinar 6 will explore.
Source: Global AI Brain Race Report 2026 / Nigeria Tech Analysis |
humanizeai.co
