AI as a Global Public Good- Tackling Inequalities in Academic and Scientific Progress
Examining global inequalities in access to advanced AI tools and their implications for academic and scientific progress, with a focus on low- and middle-income countries.
Funded by Global Young Academy (GYA)
Lead Institution: Jinnah School of Public Policy and Leadership (JSPPL), NUST
Duration: December 2025 – December 2026
Project Lead: Dr. Inayat Ullah
The Assignment
The project “AI as a Global Public Good: Tackling Inequalities in Academic and Scientific Progress” seeks to address the growing disparities in access to advanced artificial intelligence (AI) tools that are rapidly transforming how research is conducted, disseminated, and utilized worldwide.
While AI-driven tools promise major gains in research efficiency, collaboration, and innovation, unequal access—driven by licensing restrictions, infrastructure gaps, affordability constraints, and institutional capacity—risks widening the global knowledge divide. Researchers based in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are particularly disadvantaged, facing barriers to subscriptions, licenses, and computational resources, which may limit their ability to contribute equitably to global scientific production.
This project will generate systematic evidence on inequalities in access to AI technologies, assess their impacts on research productivity, collaboration, and knowledge creation, and identify policy-relevant pathways for addressing these challenges. By combining policy analysis, capacity-building initiatives, and global dialogue among researchers and institutions, the project aims to advance the idea of AI as a global public good.
