The AI Jam: A Global Effort to Enhance Disaster Response

In Bangkok today, 50 leaders from Southeast and South Asia are gathering for the first-ever AI Jam for Disaster Management professionals. This unique event is organized by the Gates Foundation in collaboration with the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) and DataKind to explore how artificial intelligence can enhance disaster response efforts.

Addressing Urgent Needs

The workshop's central question is straightforward yet critical: How can AI help governments, nonprofits, and other organizations respond more swiftly and effectively during emergencies? Participants represent 13 countries—Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Vietnam—and include government agencies, multilateral organizations, and non-profits deeply involved in disaster response.

These teams often operate under significant constraints. Limited resources, fragmented data, manual processes, and inadequate infrastructure can hinder coordination and decision-making during fast-moving crises where timely information is crucial. Many are now investigating how AI could streamline these workflows to save lives and reduce suffering.

The initiative builds on the Gates Foundation's OpenAI for Countries Program, which was launched at Davos in January 2026. This program aims to help organizations move from theoretical interest in AI into practical applications that address their daily operational challenges.

Paving a Path Forward

By bringing together experts and practitioners, the workshop seeks to identify specific use cases where AI can make an immediate impact. For instance, real-time data analysis could improve early warning systems; predictive models might help anticipate disaster impacts more accurately; and machine learning algorithms could optimize resource allocation during response operations.

The urgency of this work is underscored by recent events in the region. In 2025, a series of typhoons and severe storms across South and Southeast Asia disrupted communities and strained local disaster management systems to their limits. With Asia accounting for about 75% of global disaster-affected populations, AI could play an essential role in mitigating future impacts.

Through this collaborative effort, the hope is that participants will leave with a clearer understanding of how they can integrate AI into their existing frameworks and processes. By doing so, they aim to enhance situational awareness, improve decision-making speed, and ultimately save more lives during disasters.