Preliminary Insights: How the GIRAI Can Inform Policy and Programmatic Delivery

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This brief, Preliminary Insights: How the GIRAI Can Inform Policy and Programmatic Delivery, is the opening publication in the Human Rights and AI Analytical Report Series, a set of focused reports drawing on data from the 2024 Global Index on Responsible AI (GIRAI). As the first in the series, it sets the foundation for the human rights analysis that follows by outlining early findings, cross-cutting themes, and the practical value of GIRAI data for policy actors, development agencies, and researchers alike.

The brief highlights the significance of the GIRAI as the largest primary dataset on responsible AI governance, offering a rare lens into how 138 countries and jurisdictions, including 41 in Africa, are navigating AI’s impact on fundamental rights. It identifies widespread gaps in national AI governance frameworks, the absence of enforceable safeguards for rights protection, and a concerning lack of public participation in AI policy processes.

Importantly, the brief discusses how the GIRAI can be used to support institutional efforts, particularly by multilateral organisations like UNDP, to develop rights-based AI systems grounded in local realities. It provides examples of how GIRAI data is already informing governance initiatives and suggests strategic entry points for its use in programmatic planning, capacity building, and policy development.

As the framing piece in the series, it introduces key conceptual and methodological underpinnings for the Human Rights dimension of the Index and paves the way for more targeted briefs on gender, socio-economic development, rule of law, cultural and linguistic diversity, and more. It serves both as a call to action and a guide for those seeking to build ethical, inclusive, and accountable AI ecosystems.