Humanitarian AI Paradox: DFS and HLA launch a 2026 pulse survey to measure change

Data Friendly Space and the Humanitarian Leadership Academy have launched a brief pulse survey open until 31 January 2026 to check whether the sector's 'humanitarian AI paradox'—high individual AI use alongside low organizational readiness—has shifted since mid‑2025.

Data Friendly Space (DFS) and the Humanitarian Leadership Academy (HLA) have launched a short pulse survey to track how humanitarians and their organizations are engaging with artificial intelligence. The follow-up compares current conditions with findings from May–June 2025, when a survey of 2,539 practitioners across 144 countries surfaced what the organisations called the "humanitarian AI paradox." That earlier study reported widespread individual use of AI alongside limited organizational integration. Since mid‑2025 the sector has continued to face funding and operational pressures while AI capabilities have evolved. Key details: - The pulse survey was launched by DFS and HLA in January 2026 to capture short‑term shifts since the mid‑2025 research. - The May–June 2025 research included 2,539 respondents in 144 countries and reported 93% of humanitarians using AI tools while 8% worked in organisations with fully integrated AI strategies. - The 2025 study identified five main challenges: a gap between individual adoption and organisational readiness; an AI skills paradox; fragmented training approaches; governance gaps; and heavy reliance on commercial tools. - The follow‑up aims to see whether training access, organisational integration, ethical guidance, regional engagement patterns (including Sub‑Saharan Africa), and the balance between commercial and purpose‑built tools have changed. - The survey is available in English with automatic machine translation for Arabic, French, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Turkish, and Ukrainian; it is open until 31 January 2026 and findings will be shared from February 2026. Summary: The pulse survey is intended to provide a brief, updated snapshot of whether the earlier gap between individual AI use and organisational readiness is narrowing. Results are meant to inform humanitarian organisations, donors, technology partners and policymakers. Findings will be shared with the sector from February 2026.