This opening webinar launches IFPRI’s new series, AI for Food Systems Research. The series explores how artificial intelligence (AI) is being integrated into food, agriculture, and development research, with a focus on building the skills and critical understanding needed to use these tools responsibly.

As outlined in the recent blog post, AI—and more recently, the expanding availability and public use of Generative AI (GenAI)—offers powerful opportunities to enhance research processes, from summarizing literature to generating new insights and improving communication. Yet alongside these benefits come important questions about ethics, human judgment, and the evolving skills researchers need to engage critically with AI tools.

This first session will feature two experts in human–AI interaction who will share insights from their work and reflect on the competencies researchers need to navigate GenAI’s promises and pitfalls. Their presentations will be followed by a discussion led by the co-curators of this series and an open Q&A, inviting participants to explore how these ideas can strengthen our own food systems research practices.

Moderator and Opening Remarks

• Eliot Jones-Garcia, Senior Research Analyst, IFPRI

Presentation

• Stephany Oliveros, CEO and Co-founder, SheAI
• Diana Wolfe, Principal Applied Research Lead, Avanade

Discussants

• Jessica Leight, Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI 
• Jona Repishti, Assistant Director, Digital Green