Addressing AI Inequality in the Global Economy @ Penn Club of NY
Columbia University’s Professor Ben Amor (Monday, July 28, 2025)
$32.50 Per Columbia Club Member, Includes Tax & Gratuity
6:00 PM Wine & Cheese Reception
6:30 PM Presentation
7:15 – 7:30 PM Q&A
While AI technologies, particularly Large Languages Models such as ChatGPT, offer numerous opportunities for enhancing education, research, and innovation, their widespread adoption and effective utilization require substantial resources, infrastructure, and expertise. This discrepancy in resources between developed and developing countries could widen the gap between their respective universities, and their ability to use or develop these AI technologies.
This session will explore how the availability of computational resources, data, expertise and talent readiness, as well as financial resources all play a crucial role and will determine or hinder the capacity to train and deploy advanced AI models. Training AI models like ChatGPT requires significant computational power and storage capabilities. Universities in developed countries often possess powerful computing infrastructure and can afford high-performance hardware or cloud-based services for AI training. Developed countries, with their advanced technological infrastructure and access to abundant data sources, are also more likely to possess the necessary data for training sophisticated AI models. In addition, developed countries tend to have a more established ecosystem for AI research and a larger pool of skilled professionals. They often attract top talent, have well-funded research programs, and offer extensive opportunities for collaboration. Finally, developed countries, with greater financial resources, can allocate substantial funds to AI initiatives in universities, enabling them to pursue cutting-edge research, establish specialized AI centers, and offer competitive salaries to AI professionals. This is in stark contrast with the resources available in developing countries.
The session will try to suggest solutions, particularly for developers when designing, developing or deploying AI models, to prevent a widening digital divide brought by AI between the Global South and the Global North.
About Speaker:
Professor Yanis Ben Amor is the Executive Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at the Climate School at Columbia University. He is an Assistant Professor of Global Health and Microbiological Sciences. He is also the Director of the Columbia-wide “AI and Future of Work” initiative launched with FII Institute.
Prof. Ben Amor has over 20 years of research experience developing digital tools.
Professor Ben Amor has developed digital tools for tuberculosis patients to facilitate their adherence, for HIV-positive mothers to help them prevent vertical transmission of the virus, for malaria control programs to monitor use of resources for an effective control strategy, and more recently, for Syrian refugees in Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan to provide health information and healthcare access. Prof. Ben Amor has previously worked for several organizations such as the Pasteur Institute (Paris, France). Prof. Ben Amor is currently working on several projects involving Artificial Intelligence, as part of a digital application providing health access to vulnerable populations in Low-and-Middle-Income Countries (LMICs). Prof. Ben Amor has also launched a Columbia-wide initiative to study the impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Future of Work and Education, with a particular focus on LMICs.
Prof. Ben Amor has a PhD in Molecular Biology. He has published widely in infectious diseases, global health, and prevention. He is also regularly a speaker on behalf of Columbia University and the Climate School/Earth Institute at various conferences worldwide.
Cancellation Policy: Due to financial obligations, cancellation requests must be received 48 hours prior to the event, otherwise you will be charged the full cost of the event. All no-shows are charged full cost.