New India-Based AI Research Lab Wants to Help Workers Earn More With AI

A new India-based AI Research Lab is looking at how AI can support workers as the technology continues to change jobs and labor markets. The Institute for Human Flourishing (IHF), founded by Ravi Venkatesan and led by CEO Urvashi Aneja, launched in New York on September 23 during the high-level week of the United Nations General Assembly. It will begin by studying how AI can raise incomes, expand workers’ control, and create new opportunities in India, then take its findings to other parts of the Global South. The Rockefeller Foundation, Schmidt Philanthropies, and the Government of India back the initiative.

Why IHF Is Starting With India

IHF will begin its work in India because its large, diverse workforce will allow it to study AI’s influence. Around 90 percent of the Indian workforce is informal, including farmers, craftspeople, and micro enterprises. This means AI could help those workers improve efficiency and create new opportunities by learning how to apply it effectively. However, changes in the labor market also threaten entry-level IT and BPO positions. These roles have traditionally helped workers move into the middle class in India and other countries.

Automation is also pressuring growth models that rely on relatively cheap labor. IHF believes the bigger challenge is how AI reaches workers and small businesses. Changes in how people organize work and share information will also affect its impact. Institutions will play a role in deciding who benefits from these changes. Venkatesan believes India can demonstrate how AI can support wider economic opportunities. IHF plans to connect evidence, real-world work and policy to explore this approach.

IHF’s Labs and Programs Will Study AI’s Impact on Workers

IHF plans to create three initiatives to study how AI affects workers and jobs. The Livelihoods Lab will test human-AI collaboration with workers and organizations in real-world settings. Participants will help design these projects, while IHF will publish every finding as an open public good. The AI and Jobs Observatory will track workers’ experiences as AI changes different types of jobs.

It will also develop an Index of Human Flourishing that looks beyond income. The index will measure factors such as agency, dignity, capability, and economic security. The Policy and Narrative program will turn these findings into evidence-based policy advocacy. It will also connect a Global South advisory network around shared priorities. Together, these programs will help IHF find practical ways for workers and smaller businesses to benefit from AI.