AI助力影响：人工智能在亚洲社会创新中的作用

AI for Impact:The Role of Artificial Intelligencein Social Innovation in Asia I N S I G H TR E P O R TJ U N E2 0 2 6 Cover image:DrinkwellImages:Getty Images,Pexels Contents Foreword3 Executive summary4 Introduction5 1Key impact themes in the region6 2The geography of AI-for-impact in Asia10 3Impact intent13 4Ecosystem maturity across the region14 5Use of AI technologies19 6Challenges of AI adoption for impact23 7Addressing systemic risks26 8Outlook28 9Pathways for impact29 Conclusion32 Appendix33 Contributors36 Endnotes40 Disclaimer This document is published by the Schwab Foundationfor Social Entrepreneurship in partnership with the WorldEconomic Forum as a contribution to a project, insight areaor interaction. The findings, interpretations and conclusionsexpressed herein are a result of a collaborative processfacilitated and endorsed by the Schwab Foundation butwhose results do not necessarily represent the views of theSchwab Foundation or the World Economic Forum, nor theentirety of its Members, Partners or other stakeholders. © 2026 the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurshipand the World Economic Forum. All rights reserved. Nopart of this publication may be reproduced or transmittedin any form or by any means, including photocopying andrecording, or by any information storage and retrieval system. Foreword Justin SpelhaugPresident, Microsoft Elevate,Microsoft Gillian HindeGlobal CorporateResponsibility Leader, EY Rashmi VermaChief Inclusion &Social Impact Officer, SAP Artificial intelligence (AI) is beginning to reshapehow societies respond to some of their urgentchallenges. Across Asia, social innovators areearly, determined adopters, applying AI to improvehealth services, strengthen food systems, expandaccess to education, support climate resilienceand improve the delivery of public services. Theytranslate emerging tools into practical solutions forcommunities that are often hardest to reach, testingwhat works in real-world conditions, surfacingrisks that need to be managed and highlightingopportunities for positive impact. Where coordination is weak, even promisingsolutions remain fragmented, underfunded or stuckat pilot stage despite clear demand. We developed this report to help address theregion’s need for better signals amid growing noise.Frontier models and commercial competition oftendominate AI debates, while the work of socialinnovators using AI to address concrete social andenvironmental challenges is less visible. This reportbrings those efforts into focus and examines whatit will take for them to reach more people. Theseefforts range from interoperable data systems andresponsible AI safeguards to financing models,procurement pathways, acknowledgement ofcontextual solutions and capacity-building effortsdesigned with social innovators in mind. This report highlights their stories, challengesand successes in developing an environment oftrust that enables AI solutions to create positivechange. Based on an analysis of more than2,900 AI-for-impact initiatives across ten economies,we show that many meaningful applications are ledor co-created by social innovators embedded incommunities. Their solutions succeed when policy,infrastructure, talent, finance and partnerships arealigned around clear public interest outcomes andcommunity priorities. The report also highlightsthat their work often involves efforts to buildrobust foundations for impactful AI applications.They convene community leaders, public-sectororganizations, civil society and technology leadersto build infrastructure (such as open data pools),develop standards for data sharing or implementinternet of things (IoT) systems for primary datacollection. Social innovators succeed wherecoordination is strong, enabling them to plug intonational platforms and public systems. With social innovators at the centre of the agenda,AI can contribute meaningfully to inclusion, resilienceand sustainable development in Asia – but onlyif funders, technology companies and supportorganizations build far stronger partnerships aroundthem. The next phase of effort must move decisivelybeyond pilots towards large-scale implementationand systemic change – from investing in affordableconnectivity and low-resource language compatibilityto creating coalitions that unlock responsible accessto public-interest data. Working together on thesefoundations will allow social innovators to deploy AIequitably, reach organizations closest to vulnerablecommunities and sustain practical solutionsin healthcare, agriculture, climate adaptation,education and public service delivery. Executive summary Social outcomes from artificial intelligencein Asia depend on ecosystem readinessand open, shared infrastructure. Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming a practical toolfor public-interest problem-solving across Asia, butits uptake is highly uneven and often constrainedby work that happens before applications everreach communities. Drawing