Human Development Report 2025

A matter of choice: People and possibilities in the age of AI

The 2025 Human Development Report explores the profound transformations brought by artificial intelligence (AI) and their implications for human development. The report argues that while AI is advancing rapidly and reshaping economies and societies, its ultimate impact depends not on technology itself, but on the choices humans make in its design, deployment, and governance.

The report rejects the common narratives of inevitable technological dominance, whether utopian or dystopian, and instead frames AI as a ‘matter of choice.’ It stresses that AI must serve as a tool for expanding human freedoms and capabilities, rather than simply automating tasks or replacing jobs.

Key findings include:

• Global use of AI is rapidly growing, with two-thirds of people across all Human Development Index (HDI) groups expecting to use AI for education, health, and work within a year.
• Human development progress is slowing globally; inequalities between high- and low-HDI countries are widening, and AI could either exacerbate or reduce these divides depending on policy choices.
• AI’s real impact lies in human agency: It can either augment human potential or deepen inequalities, depending on whether societies invest in people’s capabilities and prioritise equitable access.
• Three key actions are essential:
  1. Building a complementary economy that fosters collaboration between humans and AI, rather than competition.
  2. Driving innovation with intent, ensuring that AI development explicitly incorporates human development goals.
  3. Investing in capabilities that count, particularly in education and healthcare, to empower people to thrive in an AI-driven world.

The report calls for a shift from passive acceptance of AI’s impacts to proactive choices that centre people and their well-being.

Why is the report must read for civil society?

The heart of the report lies in its vision for human-centred AI. It calls on societies to reject the narrow view that technology alone drives progress. Instead, it urges governments, businesses and communities to focus on choices that expand human agency and collective well-being.

The report shows how AI is reshaping questions of justice, democracy, and social cohesion. It highlights that most of the world’s AI development is concentrated in just a few countries, mainly the United States, China and parts of Europe, leaving many others with little influence over how these technologies evolve. Moreover, AI systems tend to reflect the biases and cultures of their creators, which means communities in Africa, Latin America, and parts of Asia face being ‘digitally colonised’ by values and priorities that are not their own.

Civil society organisations are uniquely positioned to challenge these trends. The report offers clear examples of where activism can make a difference. In South Africa, human rights groups are demanding greater oversight of facial recognition technologies used in public spaces. In the Philippines, feminist organisations are advocating against AI-driven surveillance systems that reinforce gender-based violence and discrimination. In Colombia, community networks are creating alternative AI systems focused on local sustainability and food security, rather than profit.

Reading this report provides civil society with both a wake-up call and a toolkit. It gives evidence and arguments to push back against narratives that portray AI as inevitable or neutral. It also offers practical approaches to demand policies that prioritise people’s rights, agency and well-being over corporate interests or geopolitical competition.