Responsible AI and data governance are often framed as constraints on innovation—but what if they are essential to it? This webinar explores why ethical, well-regulated systems are not at odds with innovation, but rather foundational to its legitimacy, sustainability, and impact. 

Bringing together perspectives from both technology producers and users, this session examines how policy, design, and governance can align to support more trustworthy, equitable, and effective AI systems in agriculture and development. 

Ameen Jauhar will focus on the responsibilities of content providers—including researchers, funders, and technology developers—arguing that responsible innovation starts with design choices, institutional mandates, and legal frameworks. He will reflect on current policy efforts, the role of organizational governance, and the importance of proactive engagement with ethics and risk. 

Katarzyna Kosior will complement this with a grounded perspective from the user side. Drawing on her research and community engagement, she will explore how farmers and rural actors experience digital technologies, and how data governance and AI ethics affect their agency, trust, and capacity to participate meaningfully in innovation processes. 

Together, the speakers will argue that regulation and innovation are not opposites—they are mutually reinforcing. Ethical AI depends on designing systems that are not only technically sound but also socially accountable and inclusive, across all levels of the food system. 

Speakers

• Ameen Jauhar, Data Governance Lead, CABI 
• Katarzyna Kosior, Assistant Professor, Institute of Agricultural and Food Economics – National Research Institute (IAFE-NRI), Warsaw

Discussant  

• Patricia Zambrano, Senior Program Manager, IFPRI

Moderator

• Eliot Jones-Garcia, Senior Research Analyst, IFPRI; PhD Candidate, Wageningen University