Ramla Khalidi, UNDP Resident Representative in Việt Nam speaks at the launch of the 2025 Human Development Report. Photo courtesy of UNDP

As global human development faces its sharpest slowdown in decades, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is emerging as both a challenge and an opportunity. In an interview with Việt Nam News reporter Khánh Linh, Ramla Khalidi, UNDP Resident Representative in Việt Nam, discusses the key findings of the 2025 Human Development Report, the implications for Việt Nam’s development journey and how the country can harness AI to close inequality gaps and shape a more inclusive future.

The 2025 Human Development Report highlights an unprecedented slowdown in global human development. What are the main factors driving this trend?

UNDP’s 2025 Human Development Report reveals that, for the first time in decades, global progress in human development is slowing, if not reversing. This slowdown is driven by a combination of intersecting global crises: persistent inequality, the worsening impacts of climate change, geopolitical fragmentation and economic uncertainty.

But more recently, a powerful new factor has emerged, artificial intelligence.

While AI holds enormous potential, its rise has been rapid and uneven. Countries with robust digital infrastructure, advanced skills and strong institutions are beginning to harness AI for productivity growth and innovation. Others are struggling to keep up. This growing divide between AI 'leaders' and 'laggards' threatens to reinforce existing socio-economic inequalities across education, income and opportunity.

In short, we are not only seeing a slowdown in human development, we are seeing a divergence. Without urgent action, including efforts to promote inclusive digital transitions, this divergence could define the next decade.

Based on current projections, how likely is it that the global goal of achieving very high human development by 2030 will be delayed, and what could be the consequences?

Based on the evidence presented in the HDR, it is unfortunately highly likely that the world will fall short of the 2030 goal. For many countries, gains in health, education, and income have stalled or even regressed.

The consequences of the delay go far beyond missed targets on a global scorecard. They are deeply human. A delayed trajectory means more lives lost to preventable illness, more children excluded from education and more working-age adults unable to adapt to a fast-changing economy. It also means large shares of a country’s population fall behind.

With AI accelerating global transformation, the cost of inaction is rising. If we fail to close digital and capability gaps now, especially in low- and middle-income countries, we risk locking in new forms of inequality that are harder to undo. In effect, we would be creating a digital underclass, excluded not just from opportunity, but from the rules and tools of the future. If managed with conscious intent, AI can be a force to reduce inequalities, create opportunities, increase productivity and enhance the sustainability and resilience of economies worldwide.

Việt Nam has achieved strong progress, with its HDI increasing by over 50 per cent since 1990. However, inequality remains a persistent challenge. In your view, which forms of inequality are currently the most critical to address in order to support more inclusive development in Việt Nam?

Việt Nam’s development trajectory has been nothing short of impressive. Since 1990, the country has lifted millions out of poverty, expanded access to education, and achieved near-universal internet coverage. But as you rightly point out, beneath this progress, several persistent inequalities remain, and they risk being deepened by new technologies if not addressed head-on.

First, there’s the urban-rural divide. While cities thrive, many rural and remote communities still face barriers to opportunity, from infrastructure gaps to limited access to quality healthcare and education.

Second, ethnic inequality continues to shape life outcomes. Ethnic minority students, for example, are less likely to complete upper secondary school and communities in upland regions often lack digital access altogether.

Third, gender gaps are evident, particularly in technology fields. Women are underrepresented in AI-related and STEM jobs and leadership, and often have lower access to digital skills training.

Fourth, the digital divide itself remains a major challenge. While mobile broadband use is widespread, digital confidence and advanced skills are unevenly distributed.

And finally, Việt Nam’s large informal workforce, over 68 per cent of all workers, remains largely unprotected and highly vulnerable to automation.

If inclusive development is to remain Việt Nam’s goal, addressing these five dimensions of inequality is essential.

The report presents AI as a potential driver of renewed human development. In the context of Việt Nam, what should be the first steps to ensure AI can benefit all communities and not leave anyone behind?

The first step is to put inclusion at the heart of Việt Nam’s AI strategy, not just in words, but in design, implementation, and evaluation.

That means ensuring everyone, regardless of where they live, what language they speak, or what work they do, can access the infrastructure, tools, and skills needed to benefit from AI.

Specifically, this starts with expanding connectivity to rural and mountainous areas, where infrastructure gaps persist. At the same time, digital literacy and AI education must be scaled up, especially for vulnerable groups: ethnic minorities, older workers, women, persons with disability and those in the informal economy.

AI tools must also be localised, designed to function in Vietnamese and ethnic minority languages, and adapted for the real-world needs of users in agriculture, education, and health. A rice farmer receiving smart irrigation alerts, a village schoolteacher using an AI-powered lesson platform, or a clinic assistant using AI diagnostics, all of these are examples of how inclusion can be made real.

UNDP is working closely with the government to identify these opportunities and ensure that AI rollouts actively reduce, not reproduce, existing inequalities.

What are UNDP’s key recommendations for Vietnamese policymakers based on the key findings of the 2025 Human Development Report? What should be Việt Nam’s top priorities moving forward, particularly in improving health, education, and income equality?

UNDP recommends that Việt Nam focuses on three interlocking priorities.

First, invest in foundational human capabilities. This includes education, healthcare, social protection, and digital skills for all. Universal access to quality services is not just a social good, it is a strategic necessity for navigating technological change. For example, ensuring that factory workers can reskill, that ethnic girls can complete STEM education, and that informal workers can access healthcare— all of these are vital steps for an inclusive AI transition.

Second, treat digital infrastructure as a public good. This means ensuring that national data centres, open datasets, public AI models, and digital platforms are designed to serve the public interest, not just private profit. These digital commons can help level the playing field for local innovators, small businesses and underserved communities.

And third, strengthen governance frameworks to ensure ethical, inclusive AI use. Việt Nam is already moving in this direction, with the Law on Data, the creation of a National Data Centre, and efforts to develop local language models. The next step is to finalise clear legal and ethical guidelines that ensure transparency, accountability and citizen trust.

UNDP stands ready to support Việt Nam in these efforts, by sharing good international practices, convening diverse voices and piloting solutions that ensure AI becomes a tool for inclusive, sustainable and human-centred development. — VNS