Prosperity for all

In the age of AI.

AI’s economic gains are concentrating.

The Institute for Human Flourishing (IHF) works to change that — establishing, in real economies across India and the Global South, how AI can raise incomes, capabilities, and agency for many, and carrying the evidence into policy and practice.

ABOUT IHF

History shows that technological progress does not distribute its gains on its own.

Major economic transitions have required new institutions, policies and forms of collective action to ensure that rising productivity translates into better lives and wider opportunity.

The AI transition will be no different. Without deliberate intervention, the costs of disruption will be borne far more widely than the benefits. IHF is being built to develop the evidence, models, and policy pathways needed to steer this transition toward broad-based prosperity.
LAUNCHING AT
UNGA HIGH-LEVEL WEEK
WITH A PANEL DISCUSSION:

From Disruption to Flourishing:

Building an AI Economy that Works for All

23rd September, 2026
8:00am - 10:00am
Rockefeller Foundation
NYC | UNGA Week
MODERATED BY
Andrew Sweet | Vice President, innovation
The Rockefeller Foundation
SPEAKERS
Rohit Kansal | Secretary to the Govt. of India
Dept. of Rural Development
Ellie Bertani | President & CEO
GitLab Foundation
Manu Chopra | Co-founder & CEO
Karya
Urvashi Aneja | CEO
Institute for Human Flourishing
Ravi Venkatesan | Founder
Institute for Human Flourishing
REGISTER HERE
PEOPLE

Ravi Venkatesan

Founder

Urvashi Aneja

CEO

Nandini Gondhalekar

Partnerships

Rahul Matthan

Senior Advisor

Balaji Parthasarthy

Senior Advisor

Kalika Bali

Senior Advisor

Karim Lakhani

Senior Advisor

Mekin Maheshwari

Senior Advisor

Nandan Nilekani

Senior Advisor

Vini Mahajan

Senior Advisor

Will Poole

Senior Advisor

Naman Paithankar

Senior Advisor

PARTNERS
The Paak logoAriseHealth logo2020INC logoEphicient logoToogether logoToogether logoToogether logoToogether logo
OUR WORK
Our work is organised around three pillars.

AI & Jobs Observatory

We build evidence on how AI is reshaping jobs, livelihoods and economic mobility.
The current debate is driven by anecdotal evidence, mostly from the Global North. India faces a different set of risks, including the erosion of entry-level jobs and pathways to upward mobility. We study these changes to help policymakers, businesses and people navigate the labour market disruptions underway.

Livelihoods Lab

We design and study ways to turn AI capabilities into sustained economic gains for workers and small enterprises, then identify the conditions under which those approaches can scale.
Most Indians work in the informal economy, but productivity and wages remain low. Here, the biggest risk is not automation - rather, it is missing the opportunity to use AI to improve both productivity and wages. We take an end-to-end approach—considering not only whether a technology works, but also its costs, risks, governance and potential to scale.

Policy & Practice

We develop frameworks, guidelines and standards that help governments and businesses govern and implement AI in ways that advance human flourishing.
Grounded in research and real-world testing, we help institutions assess whether AI is expanding capabilities, agency, job quality and economic opportunity, and move from broad commitments towards measurable, socially beneficial outcomes. Policymakers need credible evidence to manage disruption, protect economic mobility and ensure that AI’s gains are widely shared. 
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