Teaching AI to see the World Differently

Payal Arora, Professor of Inclusive AI Cultures at Utrecht University and co-founder of the Inclusive AI Lab

As universities adopt AI, they risk scaling WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic) norms that distort how the Majority World is seen and heard. AI is not merely technical—it is pedagogical. Drawing on insights from her award-winning book From Pessimism to Promise (MIT Press) and the societal work of her Inclusive AI Lab, Payal Arora calls on universities to rethink AI through co-learning, community-led design, and informal learning to build more inclusive, globally grounded knowledge systems. 

Speaker profile

Payal Arora is a Professor at Utrecht University and Founder of Inclusive AI Lab. A digital anthropologist and an Award-winning Author of The Next Billion Users (Harvard) and From Pessimism to Promise (MIT), she was named among the 100 Brilliant Women in AI Ethics and hailed by Forbes as “the next billion champion.” 250+ international media outlets have covered her work including the Financial Times, Wired, and The Economist. She has given 350+ keynotes in 85 countries including  TEDx talks. She is a Harvard and Columbia University, and Rockefeller Bellagio Resident Fellow alumni.

Deadline per le iscrizioni all’evento: 10 aprile 2026