Calibrating AI/d talk: framing perceptions, reframing policy, and deframing knowledge

How does the humanitarian sector deal with the “future shock” of generative AI (GenAI), the “dizzying disorientation brought on by the premature arrival of the future” (Leslie & Perini 2024)? While discussions of the risks and opportunities of AI have been ongoing for many decades, the rapid and unplanned adoption of GenAI on a global level, including within the humanitarian sector, suggests that this technology has a transformative but unpredictable impact on the sector. After featuring in the background of discussions on the digital transformation of aid for some years (Pizzi et  al. 2020; Coppi et  al. 2021; Madianou 2021; Beduschi 2022), the adoption and adaptation of AI/GenAI have become a main focus of these conversations (Spencer 2024; McElhinney & Spencer 2024; Spencer & Masboungi 2025), reaching “peak hype” in 2024. In this commentary, I focus on AI as a buzzword in “aid talk” (Borchgrevink & Sandvik 2022). “Aid talk” refers to discussions within organizational spaces and among aid practitioners and commentators about the means and ends of humanitarian assistance, challenges encountered, and strategies to improve aid delivery. Drawing on my previous work on the digital transformation of aid and AI, the aim of this commentary is to support ongoing discussions on AI in the aid sector. I aspire for this contribution to be relevant for practitioners, policymakers, and academics alike. Given how fast these conversations move, the contribution can hopefully also be a baseline or reference point for later scholarly inquiries.