Payal Arora
on Reimagining AI Innovation and Learning from the Global South
It’s the “Pessimism Paralysis” we’re stuck in.
Cycles of fear, misinformation, and ethical dilemmas dominate the conversations around AI innovations. Yet, when everything takes a doomsday turn, Payal Arora offers a refreshing perspective. A digital anthropologist, author, founder of Inclusive AI Lab, FemLab.Co, and professor at Utrecht University who shifts our gaze away from the West’s pessimistic lens and towards the electrifying rational optimism of the Global South - where 90% of the world’s youth reside, and technology is not a threat but an opportunity.
In her new book, From Pessimism to Promise, Payal argues for a radical paradigm shift. Instead of fearing AI, we should study how marginalized communities leverage it for change. In the West, AI is framed as a looming existential threat, while in the Global South, it's a survival tool. A means to transcend systemic barriers and carve out spaces for self-actualization, the cornerstone of democracy: “Fear, while not unfounded, breeds an unwillingness to embrace AI’s potential as a transformative element. But in the Global South, the thirst for self-expression made AI their ally. The West takes this for granted and forgets that less than 7% of the world’s countries enjoy liberal democracies.”
Negativity does not inspire change. We must inject hope back into our lives, one found in the margins and micro-revolutions: “Wearing lipstick in Afghanistan or strolling alone in a park in India is an act of courage. Youths in Kenya use digital platforms to challenge political leaders, and Indian housewives sell sarees live, carving out economic independence. It’s these everyday acts of joint defiance that shift the needle. What may seem mundane is a radical act. A different narrative unfolds, one of ingenuity and empowerment. “
Older generations are more dismal and fatalistic about the future despite having more security and power. Payal coins this “pessimism privilege”, a mindset that can be cured precisely through the contagion of rational optimism from the “next billion users”: “The Global South youth are hungry for being digital, despite the tremendous socio-political challenges they face. This is survival in its fullest sense: finding humour when at war helps them cope, sharing something beautiful from a place of devastation sustains their human dignity, and creating moments of joy with digital media feeds their hope for the future.”
For millions, AI is a lifeline, a way to navigate oppression. The next billion users are not passive recipients of technology but active innovators, using digital spaces to reclaim autonomy. A quiet defiance is happening online every day – if we take a closer look, we’ll find the seeds of resilience.
Read Payal Arora’s answers for Inspirators and step out of the AI-induced despair!
Thank you, Payal, for being a Digital Anthropologist!
#INSPIRATORS QUESTIONNAIRE
Name: Payal Arora
Company / Institution: Utrecht University / Inclusive AI Lab
Title: Professor
Website: https://payalarora.com/
LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/payalarora/
Country of origin: India
Country you currently live in: Netherlands
Your definition of Regeneration: Breaking out of your mental models.
Main business challenge you face: To convince companies that focusing on the Global South, where the majority of the world lives, is NOT altruism - it's good business practice.
Main driver that keeps you going: The hunger, drive, and creative ingenuity of Global South entrepreneurs, civic actors, and the youths who are determined to leverage AI and other innovations to change their lives for the better.
The trait you are most proud of in yourself: I can translate across the aisle. This has helped me build a standing in diverse sectors including tech companies, governments, think tanks, academics and NGOs.
The trait you most value in others: Their capacity for actionable insights and drive to operationalize them.
Passions & little things that bring you joy: Kayaking around my house.
The Inspirators who determined you to take the regenerative path: It’s the numerous young people in favelas in Brazil to the slums and rural areas in India who I have researched and engaged with over these two decades and who have succeeded in hacking their way forward despite the enormous constraints they face.
A starting point for companies or professionals that are beginning the regeneration journey: Start with the premise that the Global South are not beneficiaries, but are partners and can even be leaders to learn from.
Most used and abused clichés in sustainability that bother you:
“Sustainability is not a choice; it's a necessity.” On the contrary, it is very much the courage of decision-making to institute change. Most organizations, nations, and communities delay taking a stand until it is imposed upon them.
An honest piece of advice for young people who lose hope: It's really the older people who need this advice. Evidence shows that older generations are more dismal and oftentimes even fatalistic about the future despite having more security, privilege and power.
This is what I call ‘pessimism privilege.’ I suggest this generation needs to talk to the youth, especially from the Global South where 90% of them live. They are rational optimists as they know that they have their lives ahead of them and are determined to optimize new digital innovations and other tools at their disposal to institute change for themselves and others.
Books that had a great impact on you / Must-Reads for any regenerative professional:
Jane Jacob’s The Death and Life of Great American Cities (on rethinking urban design, especially on how to watch over each other instead of watching each other)
Cat Bohannon’s EVE on rethinking and redoing our knowledge systems that see gender as a ‘problem’ to overcome.
Websites / Podcasts you visit frequently: 99% Invisible.
Music that makes you (and your heart) sing: Dolly Parton.
Places you travelled to that left a mark on you: Shanghai, Cape Town, Rio.
Events we should attend / Best places for networking (online or offline):
Come to one of Inclusive AI Lab’s Data CARE events to engage with the civic, tech, and academic sectors if you want to get on board with how to operationalize inclusive designs into practice.
Reasons to feel optimistic about our future in 2030: The youth, especially from the Global South, are not waiting to be rescued. They are forging ahead, using AI innovations in diverse and creative ways to carve new forms of work, play and everything in between.
Reasons to feel pessimistic about our future in 2030: The case of Afghanistan is a dark reminder that we can lapse into medieval-style systems of rule. Patriarchy is persistent.
Regenerative Leadership qualities much needed today:
Don’t see ideas as sacred – become irreverent!
The Inspirator(s) you are endorsing for a future edition:
Laura Herman
Charles Hayes
Usha Raman
The quote that inspires you
“As someone who has advocated for businesses and systems to be more customer-centred and societally inclusive, we must think harder about what human-centred design means and what it must do. We need to celebrate the boldness of human ingenuity while appreciating the humility of being humane. A healthy world is one where humans are not at the centre but are thriving participants, enabled by technology and grounded by nature. We must design for the tactile and the intimate, for the earthly and the cosmic, for the multicultural and the interconnected.” (Charles Hayes, designer and innovator)
Your quote that will inspire us:
