Photo © Sébastien Delarque

Eric Schmidt’s San Francisco Consensus about the impact of artificial intelligence

Reda SadkiArtificial intelligence

“We are at the beginning of a new epoch,” Eric Schmidt declared at the RAISE Summit in Paris on 9 July 2025. The former Google CEO’s message grounded in what he calls the San Francisco Consensus carries unusual weight—not necessarily because of his past role leading one of tech’s giants, but because of his current one: advising heads of state and industry on artificial intelligence. “When I talk to governments, what I tell them is, one, ChatGPT is great, but that was two years ago. Everything’s changed again. You’re not prepared for it. And two, you better get organized around it—the good and the bad.” At the Paris summit, he shared what he calls the “San Francisco Consensus”—a convergence of belief among Silicon Valley’s leaders that within three to six years AI will fundamentally transform every aspect of human activity. Whether one views this timeline as realistic or delusional matters …

Why peer learning is critical to survive the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Why peer learning is critical to survive the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Reda SadkiArtificial intelligence, Global health

María, a pediatrician in Argentina, works with an AI diagnostic system that can identify rare diseases, suggest treatment protocols, and draft reports in perfect medical Spanish. But something crucial is missing. The AI provides brilliant medical insights, yet María struggles to translate them into action in her community. What is needed to realize the promise of the Age of Artificial Intelligence? Then she discovers the missing piece. Through a peer learning network—where health workers develop projects addressing real challenges, review each other’s work, and engage in facilitated dialogue—she connects with other health professionals across Latin America who are learning to work with AI as a collaborative partner. Together, they discover that AI becomes far more useful when combined with their understanding of local contexts, cultural practices, and community dynamics. This speculative scenario, based on current AI developments and existing peer learning successes, illuminates a crucial insight as we ascend into …

RAISE Language as AI’s universal interface What it means and why it matters-small

Language as AI’s universal interface: What it means and why it matters

Reda SadkiArtificial intelligence

Imagine if you could control every device, system, and process in the world simply by talking to it in plain English—or any language you speak. No special commands to memorize. No programming skills required. No technical manuals to study. Just explain what you want in your own words, and it happens. This is the transformation Eric Schmidt described when he spoke about language becoming the “universal interface” for artificial intelligence. To understand why this matters, we need to step back and see how radically this changes everything. The old way: A tower of Babel Today, interacting with technology requires learning its language, not the other way around. Consider what you need to know: Each system speaks its own language. Humans must constantly translate their intentions into forms machines can understand. This creates barriers everywhere: between people and technology, between different systems, and between those who have technical skills and those …

What does AI reasoning revolution mean for global health

What does AI reasoning mean for global health?

Reda SadkiArtificial intelligence, Global health

When epidemiologists investigate a disease outbreak, they do not just match symptoms to known pathogens. They work through complex chains of evidence, test hypotheses, reconsider assumptions when data does not fit, and sometimes completely change their approach based on new information. This deeply human process of systematic reasoning is what artificial intelligence systems are now learning to do. This capability represents a fundamental shift from AI that recognizes patterns to AI that can work through complex problems the way a skilled professional would. For those working in global health and education, understanding this transformation is essential. The difference between answering and reasoning To understand this revolution, consider how most AI works today versus how reasoning AI operates. Traditional AI excels at pattern recognition. Show it a chest X-ray, and it can identify pneumonia by matching patterns it learned from millions of examples. Ask it about disease symptoms, and it retrieves …

Agentic AI revolution and workforce development

The agentic AI revolution: what does it mean for workforce development?

Reda SadkiArtificial intelligence

Imagine hiring an assistant who never sleeps, never forgets, can work on a thousand tasks simultaneously, and communicates with you in your own language. Now imagine having not just one such assistant, but an entire team of them, each specialized in different areas, all coordinating seamlessly to achieve your goals. This is the “agentic AI revolution” —a transformation where AI systems become agents that can understand objectives, remember context, plan actions, and work together to complete complex tasks. It represents a shift from AI as a tool you use to AI as a workforce that you collaborate with. Understanding AI agents: More than chatbots When most people think of AI today, they think of ChatGPT or similar systems—you ask a question, you get an answer. That interaction ends, and the next time you return, you start fresh. These are powerful tools, but they are fundamentally reactive and limited to single …

PanoramAI Reda Sadki artificial intelligence

The business of artificial intelligence and the equity challenge

Reda SadkiArtificial intelligence, The Geneva Learning Foundation

Since 2019, when The Geneva Learning Foundation (TGLF) launched its first AI pilot project, we have been exploring how the Second Machine Age is reshaping learning. Ahead of the release of the first framework for AI in global health, I had a chance to sit down with a group of Swiss business leaders at the PanoramAI conference in Lausanne on 5 June 2025 to share TGLF’s insights about the significance and potential of artificial intelligence for global health and humanitarian response. Here is the article posted by the conference to recap a few of the take-aways. The Global Equity Challenger At the Panoramai AI Summit, Reda Sadki, leader of The Geneva Learning Foundation, delivered provocative insights about AI’s impact on global equity and the future of human work. Drawing from humanitarian emergency response and global health networks, he challenged comfortable assumptions about AI’s societal implications. The job displacement reality Reda …

Why YouTube is obsolete

Why YouTube is obsolete: From linear video content consumption to AI-mediated multimodal knowledge production

Reda SadkiGlobal health, Learning

Does the educational purpose of video change with AI? The purpose of video in education is undergoing a fundamental transformation in the age of artificial intelligence. This medium, long established in digital learning environments, is changing not just in how we consume it, but in its very role within the learning process. Video has always been a problem in education Video has always presented significant challenges in educational contexts. Its linear format makes it difficult to skim or scan content. Unlike text, which allows learners to quickly jump between sections, glance at headings, or scan for key information, video requires sequential consumption. This constraint has long been problematic for effective learning. Furthermore, in many regions where our learners are based, internet access remains expensive, unreliable, or limited. Downloading or streaming video content can be prohibitively costly in terms of both data usage and time. The result is straightforward: few learners …

Artificial intelligence, accountability, and authenticity knowledge production and power in global health crisis

Artificial intelligence, accountability, and authenticity: knowledge production and power in global health crisis

Reda SadkiGlobal health

I know and appreciate Joseph, a Kenyan health leader from Murang’a County, for years of diligent leadership and contributions as a Scholar of The Geneva Learning Foundation (TGLF). Recently, he began submitting AI-generated responses to Teach to Reach Questions that were meant to elicit narratives grounded in his personal experience. Seemingly unrelated to this, OpenAI just announced plans for specialized AI agents—autonomous systems designed to perform complex cognitive tasks—with pricing ranging from $2,000 monthly for a “high-income knowledge worker” equivalent to $20,000 monthly for “PhD-level” research capabilities. This is happening at a time when traditional funding structures in global health, development, and humanitarian response face unprecedented volatility. These developments intersect around fundamental questions of knowledge economics, authenticity, and power in global health contexts. I want to explore three questions: Artificial intelligence within punitive accountability structures of global health For years, Joseph had shared thoughtful, context-rich contributions based on his direct experiences. …

A global health framework for Artificial Intelligence as co-worker to support networked learning and local action

A global health framework for Artificial Intelligence as co-worker to support networked learning and local action

Reda SadkiGlobal health

The theme of International Education Day 2025, “AI and education: Preserving human agency in a world of automation,” invites critical examination of how artificial intelligence might enhance rather than replace human capabilities in learning and leadership. Global health education offers a compelling context for exploring this question, as mounting challenges from climate change to persistent inequities demand new approaches to building collective capability. The promise of connected communities Recent experiences like the Teach to Reach initiative demonstrate the potential of structured peer learning networks. The platform has connected over 60,000 health workers, primarily government workers from districts and facilities across 82 countries, including those serving in conflict zones, remote rural areas, and urban settlements. For example, their exchanges about climate change impacts on community health point the way toward more distributed forms of knowledge creation in global health.  Analysis of these networks suggests possibilities for integrating artificial intelligence not merely …

Artificial intelligence for immunization learning

Digital health: The Geneva Learning Foundation to bring AI-driven training to health workers in 90 countries

Reda SadkiGlobal health

GENEVA, 23 April 2019 – The Geneva Learning Foundation (GLF) is partnering with artificial intelligence (AI) learning pioneer Wildfire to pilot cutting edge learning technology with over 1,000 immunization professionals in 90 countries, many working at the district level. British startup Wildfire, an award-winning innovator, is helping the Swiss non-profit tackle a wicked problem: while international organizations publish global guidelines, norms, and standards, they often lack an effective, scalable mechanism to support countries to turn these into action that leads to impact. By using machine learning to automate the conversion of such guidelines into learning modules, Wildfire’s AI reduces the cost of training health workers to recall critical information. This is a key step for global norms and standards to translate into making a real impact in the health of people. If the pilot is successful, Wildfire’s AI will be included in TGLF’s Scholar Approach, a state-of-the-art evidence-based package of pedagogies to …