Han Sheng Chia
LightNews LightNews
hanshengchia.bsky.social
Han Sheng Chia
@hanshengchia.bsky.social
210 followers 250 following 21 posts
Director AI Initiative + Policy Fellow, Center for Global Development. Previously Office of the Chief Economist USAID, GiveDirectly
Posts Replies Media Videos
Pinned
hanshengchia.bsky.social
Han Sheng Chia @hanshengchia.bsky.social · Jan 29
Amidst turmoil in foreign aid, we have to keep innovating, studying, and delivering services. Glad to be collaborating with The Agency Fund and OpenAI on a new accelerator for cost-effective AI applications. See Dany Bahar
& my blog for more:
www.cgdev.org/blog/new-acc...
A New Accelerator to Design and Study AI Applications in Global Development
It’s tough to ignore AI. There’s constant press about it, and everyone from USAID to the UN Secretary General has been putting forth positions on the topic. Beyond the high-level attention, a growing ...
www.cgdev.org
Reposted by Han Sheng Chia
markusgold.bsky.social
My very first podcast...luckily I had great, thoughtful and eloquent guests in Temina Madon and @hanshengchia.bsky.social!
November 1, 2025 at 7:39 PM
hanshengchia.bsky.social
Temina, Markus, and I talk AI and development on this new podcast CGD
October 31, 2025 at 1:21 AM
Reposted by Han Sheng Chia
cgdev.org
"We need to evaluate the specific behaviors our AI applications are designed to exhibit...then we can make claims about which actually led to better outcomes."

@hanshengchia.bsky.social emphasizes the need for precise, ongoing evaluation of AI tools. Full remarks:
https://bit.ly/42EF4VD
October 24, 2025 at 9:09 PM
Reposted by Han Sheng Chia
cgdev.org
Alongside this year's #AnnualMeetings, experts are convening at CGD to unpack novel AI approaches and why they matter for policymakers.

With: @hanshengchia.bsky.social, Rebecca Sharp, Temina Madon, Gabriel Demombynes, and @markusgold.bsky.social.

Happening Oct. 14—join us:
https://bit.ly/42m2Vcl
October 1, 2025 at 4:21 PM
Reposted by Han Sheng Chia
cgdev.org
There’s no consensus yet on what “good evaluation” means for AI-enabled interventions.

To help raise the quality of evaluations, @hanshengchia.bsky.social & fellow experts propose 4 key investments, from setting standards to funding research to push the frontier:
https://bit.ly/4n1Uxat
September 26, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Reposted by Han Sheng Chia
justinwolfers.bsky.social
It's his imagination and we're just lucky to be living in it.
September 1, 2025 at 4:33 PM
Reposted by Han Sheng Chia
nickkristof.bsky.social
SecState Rubio claims that no on has died because of USAID cuts and suggested that I had lied in my reporting. So here I show him photos of specific children who have died because of the Trump administration's reckless cancelation of aid: www.nytimes.com/2025/05/31/o...
May 31, 2025 at 2:22 PM
Reposted by Han Sheng Chia
cgdev.org
📅 On June 12, join @hanshengchia.bsky.social, Samantha Carter, & Farhan Abrol for a @voxdev.bsky.social event exploring the potential applications of AI. W/ @cgdev.org, @j-pal.bsky.social & @agencyfund.bsky.social.

Register! ⬇️
cepr-org.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: AI for Good? Evaluating the Impact of AI in Development. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar.
Organisations looking to use AI for development are concerned about the potential for errors and biases when using AI in high-stakes situations. In this webinar, a collaboration with the Center for G...
cepr-org.zoom.us
May 29, 2025 at 9:45 PM
Reposted by Han Sheng Chia
cgdev.org
AI-powered development interventions are growing in many areas, but underused.

@hanshengchia.bsky.social, Surbhi Bharadwaj, & Christine Hwang urge governments to explore the potential of AI to transform e-portals & improve citizen access to digital public services:
www.cgdev.org/blog/cutting...
Cutting Through the Noise: Powering the Next Generation of Government Portals with Generative AI
Artificial intelligence (AI)-powered development interventions are growing, with over 100 global health and 150 education AI projects delivering direct services in low- and middle-income countries (LM...
www.cgdev.org
May 24, 2025 at 1:29 AM
Reposted by Han Sheng Chia
cgdev.org
AI is advancing fast, but evidence on what works for dev. is still emerging.

@hanshengchia.bsky.social & @markusgold.bsky.social propose a 3-part framework to guide smart AI investments:

1️⃣ Supercharge proven solutions
2️⃣ Tackle known problems
3️⃣ Explore unknowns

More:
www.cgdev.org/blog/cutting...
Cutting through the Noise: Identifying Smart Bets in AI Applications for Development
There are more than 450 AI applications targeting health or education outcomes in low- and middle-income countries, but not every application will prove cost-effective. How can the development sector ...
www.cgdev.org
May 13, 2025 at 2:39 PM
hanshengchia.bsky.social
Wrote this with @markusgold.bsky.social — we think there are 3 approaches that can guide smart investments in AI applications for development
May 13, 2025 at 3:29 PM
Reposted by Han Sheng Chia
conjurial.bsky.social
"there's a lot of dumb AI-focused bullshit being pushed on users" and "this technology is not fake and has real use cases" are perfectly compatible things to believe
April 27, 2025 at 1:43 AM
hanshengchia.bsky.social
I’m often asked how AI can improve literacy or health if it makes mistakes/ behaves inconsistently. Evaluations help—but the term "eval" is vague. We outline a 4-stage framework to clarify. Feedback requested though also think many parts are practical and ready for adoption. 🙏 for collab J-PAL, TAF
cgdev.org Center for Global Development @cgdev.org · Apr 18
@hanshengchia.bsky.social & fellow experts introduce a new series to help implementers, policymakers & funders unpack types of evaluations for “AI for Good.”🌐

Their 4-level framework offers a guide to addressing the core concerns of AI developers & funders:
An AI Evaluation Framework for the Development Sector
There's a common concern that AI systems are black boxes prone to unexpected behavior, from Google recommending users eat rocks to Sora’s AI videos depicting gymnasts sprouting extra limbs. While…
www.cgdev.org
April 18, 2025 at 10:57 PM
Reposted by Han Sheng Chia
cgdev.org
The 2025 IMF & World Bank #SpringMeetings are right around the corner!🌸🌍

@cgdev.org is hosting key conversations with leading global development experts and policymakers—explore our schedule of events and sign up below ⬇️
bit.ly/43HcvIn
April 14, 2025 at 5:22 PM
hanshengchia.bsky.social
🥩
joshkovensky.bsky.social Josh Kovensky @joshkovensky.bsky.social · Apr 9
For your enjoyment: here is Secretary of Education Linda McMahon talking about implementing AI in schools, but pronouncing it "A1," as in "A1 Steak Sauce"

www.youtube.com/live/lxrg28z...
April 11, 2025 at 3:17 PM
hanshengchia.bsky.social
Sequel: Authoritarianism with American Characteristics
March 23, 2025 at 2:36 PM
hanshengchia.bsky.social
Thanks for inclusion in your roundup @thegovlab.org !
March 20, 2025 at 8:45 PM
Reposted by Han Sheng Chia
drodrik.bsky.social
“Imagine the chief executives of America’s top universities and richest corporations…issued a public statement that spoke clearly and loudly about the dangers…” Those who speak out will at least put themselves on the right side of history. www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/w...
When Will US Academia and Business Speak Up Against Trump? | by Dani Rodrik - Project Syndicate
Dani Rodrik argues that leaders in both sectors bear a disproportionate responsibility to come to democracy's defense.
www.project-syndicate.org
March 18, 2025 at 9:21 PM
Reposted by Han Sheng Chia
cgdev.org
Meeting w/ nonprofits at the forefront of AI use, @hanshengchia.bsky.social finds that orgs are:

🌐Delivering services at scale with current AI tech
🌐Betting AI-driven personalization can boost impact
🌐Able to measure/manage AI unpredictability

More:
Cutting Through the Noise: Early Insights from the Frontier of Nonprofit AI Use
From March 3-5, over two dozen nonprofits and funders working at the intersection of AI and development convened in Bengaluru to kick off the AI for Global Development Accelerator. The initiative, which...
bit.ly
March 17, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Reposted by Han Sheng Chia
mclem.org
The White House stated that USAID’s elimination would cause no deaths.

A top official said (verbatim), “I give zero f*cks” about widespread credible reports of deaths already occurring.

That official is incompetent. He did no analysis whatsoever of the death toll. Here is a serious analysis:
Opinion | Musk Said No One Has Died Since Aid Was Cut. That Isn’t True.
A journey through the front lines of global poverty shows that when the world’s richest men slash aid for the world’s poorest children, the result is sickness, starvation and death.
www.nytimes.com
March 15, 2025 at 6:06 PM
hanshengchia.bsky.social
Just in India with orgs on frontier of nonprofit AI use. 3 insights: 1) deployments already happening at scale 2) orgs are betting on greater personalization driving impact 3) mitigations & evals for aberrant AI behavior exist but need to be demanded by funders. My blog for more:

shorturl.at/6YKNx
Cutting Through the Noise: Early Insights from the Frontier of Nonprofit AI Use
From March 3-5, over two dozen nonprofits and funders working at the intersection of AI and development convened in Bengaluru to kick off the AI for Global Development Accelerator. The initiative, whi...
shorturl.at
March 13, 2025 at 10:07 PM
hanshengchia.bsky.social
This is one of those “how will this be reported if this was in another country” moments. Maybe another bilat aid agency should run a democracy, rights, and governance program for the US.
March 9, 2025 at 8:23 PM
hanshengchia.bsky.social
I will never be part of a more dramatic looking panel. Hong Kong cop show vibes
March 9, 2025 at 1:08 AM
Reposted by Han Sheng Chia
agawande.bsky.social
Rubio terminated 5800 USAID contracts – more than 90% of its foreign aid programs – in defiance of the courts.

Here’s a list of just some of the lifesaving awards that were terminated. Nearly all were Congressionally mandated. They’ve saved millions of lives. 🧵
February 27, 2025 at 8:59 PM
Reposted by Han Sheng Chia
mehdirhasan.bsky.social
Per Dr Atul Gawande, ex USAID: “All malaria supplies protecting 53 million people, mostly children, including bed nets, diagnostics, preventive drugs, and treatments – terminated.”

There are no words that sufficiently describe this level of cruelty and sadism.
February 28, 2025 at 5:16 AM