The World Bank is putting small AI on the agenda of its Global AI and Digital Summit, which opens in Seoul on October 19. A session on October 20 will examine tools adapted to local needs. The Bank describes small AI as a design approach built around a specific problem and the devices people can access, including basic phones and sensors. Some applications can run models locally or use familiar channels such as text messages and voice. The ambition is to make useful services work with limited connectivity. These are proposals for development, with benefits that still have to be demonstrated in use.

A public agency buying such a service would still need a budget for maintenance and someone responsible when an answer fails. Running a model on a modest device can reduce dependence on a remote server, but the device needs power, repairs and software updates. Local data also requires people who can check whether an answer fits the language and circumstances of the person asking. Those costs belong in the contract from the start. Otherwise, a successful demonstration can leave a clinic or farming cooperative with equipment nobody can maintain. The Bank itself acknowledges the need for digital skills and trusted local institutions. Procurement should specify who tests the tool, who pays after the pilot ends, and where a person can challenge advice that has caused harm.