The 2025 Human Development Report was launched in Kazakhstan at the Digital Bridge 2025 forum last week. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Kazakhstan organized a panel session titled “The Power of Choice: Human Development at the Crossroads of Artificial Intelligence.” The event brought together diplomats, government officials, academics, civil society, educators, and thought leaders to discuss the findings of the Human Development Report 2025 and the future of AI in Kazakhstan.
First published by the UNDP in 1990, the Human Development Report (HDR) introduced the Human Development Index (HDI) as a new way to measure progress beyond economic growth. The HDR has since become a leading global reference for assessing well-being, focusing on health, education, and standard of living.
The 2025 HDR focuses on artificial intelligence as both a challenge and an opportunity for human development. Survey data show that around 20% of respondents globally are already using AI, and two-thirds of respondents in countries with lower HDI expect to use AI within a year. This contrasts with about half of respondents in very high HDI countries. Notably, people expect AI to augment their work more than automate it, with expectations of new opportunities outweighing fears of job displacement.
The report underscores the potential of artificial intelligence—not just as a technological breakthrough, but as a powerful tool to overcome stagnation and drive progress. Global survey results show cautious optimism: half of respondents believe their current jobs could be automated, but 60% expect AI to open new career opportunities, including professions that do not yet exist. Only 13% express concern about potential job losses, while in countries with lower HDI, 70% anticipate productivity gains from AI, and two-thirds plan to use it in education, healthcare, or work within the next year.
Kazakhstan maintains a strong position, ranking 60th out of 193 countries in the HDI with a score of 0.837. However, when factoring in inequality and environmental risks, the index declines to 0.765, highlighting the urgent need for fair and sustainable solutions.
In response to the challenges of the digital era, Kazakhstan has developed a new law regulating AI, prioritizing human rights, transparency, and safety. The legislation prohibits the use of AI for emotion analysis, behavioural control, and personal data collection without consent, and mandates labelling of deepfakes. It also restricts open neural networks to protect confidential information and stresses the importance of integrating national values and cultural identity into AI deployment.
