Radio in the Time of Artificial Intelligence: A Bridge to Knowledge in an Unequal World | By Golda El Khoury

Last year, on the occasion of World Radio Day, we highlighted the ongoing and enduring role of radio — especially community and associative radios — in enhancing cultural diversity, expanding public participation, and ensuring access to information in the Arab world. One year later, the conversation is no longer about whether radio still retains its importance, but about how it interacts today with modern technologies, particularly artificial intelligence, within societies where access to knowledge remains unequal.
The theme of this year, “Radio and Artificial Intelligence,” pushes us beyond the optimistic discourse around technology and asks a more practical, grounded question: who actually has the ability to access AI tools, and through what channels do these technologies reach the public?
Radio, AI, and Access to Information
Across the Arab region, internet access has expanded noticeably in recent years, but this expansion remains unequal. According to data from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), some Gulf states record very high connectivity, while other countries — especially those affected by conflict or economic fragility — continue to suffer wide gaps in access. Even within connected environments, the cost of the internet, uneven digital skills, and language barriers present real obstacles to equitable access to information.
However, internet connectivity does not necessarily mean access to artificial intelligence. These technologies usually require, among other things, additional skills, appropriate devices, and specific language capacities — especially in contexts where major AI tools are dominated by global languages.
Globally, more than two billion people remain offline. What is less clear — and even less documented in the Arab context — is the size of the population that is effectively excluded from artificial intelligence and continues to depend on oral communication, local dialects, or collective media access rather than individual interaction with digital platforms.
Radio has long provided a practical response to this reality. It can simplify complex information and transform it into everyday language that is widely understood. It reaches broad audiences collectively without requiring literacy, constant internet connection, or personal devices. When supported with simple AI applications — such as summarising content, translating it, or organising audience interaction — radio can become a practical bridge linking large segments of the population to these technologies, even without direct engagement with them.
Yet, to this day, there is no comprehensive regional data detailing how artificial intelligence is used within radio ecosystems in the Arab world, nor the actual potential for its deployment. This knowledge gap itself raises questions about the preparedness of media and technology policies to accompany this shift, beyond merely celebrating it as a slogan.
Women, AI, and the Persistence of the Digital Divide
The digital divide between genders remains a structural feature in the Arab world. Women are less likely than men to use the internet, and global estimates indicate that women in the Middle East and North Africa are 10–15 % less likely to be online. This gap does not only limit access to information but also extends to emerging technologies like artificial intelligence.
Despite growing global discussions about women’s relationship to AI, available data on the Arab context is scarce. Information about how women interact with these technologies in their daily lives — or even the degree to which they actually access them — remains very limited, reflecting a knowledge gap in addition to the digital divide itself.
In this context, radio continues to play an important compensatory role. For decades, it has been a trusted source of information for many women, especially in domestic, rural, and informal work settings. Through programmes addressing health, education, livelihoods, and rights, radio has expanded access to knowledge long before digital platforms became widespread.
Artificial intelligence, when integrated via radio rather than through individual screens, can enhance rather than replace this role. However, realising this potential depends on a deeper understanding of women’s realities and needs, and on building more precise knowledge bases that allow these technologies to be employed fairly and appropriately in their social context.
Youth: Between Digital Connectivity and Meaningful Participation
Youth in the Arab world are often seen as the most digitally connected. Indeed, they use the internet more than older age groups. Yet this connectivity does not necessarily translate into active participation, real influence, or sustainable access to reliable information. Economic conditions, political contexts, and uneven digital skills remain decisive factors in shaping how youth engage in public life.
In this framework, radio offers a different model: a shared, organised public space that allows for collective interaction rather than isolated individual experience. Community and associative radios have repeatedly provided platforms for young people to express their opinions, participate in public discussion, and contribute to content production collectively — including during times of crisis and social change. This role has been built over years of local media work connected with social realities.
AI tools can support this model rather than replace it. For small radios, these tools offer practical means to analyse audience interaction, organise content, and track emerging topics without requiring complex digital infrastructure or large resources.
Still, the body of knowledge remains limited. Research on how youth engage with AI through radio or other non-digital channels is rare in the Arab world, despite the ongoing importance of these collective spaces in shaping local public discourse.
Radio as a Safe Space in the Age of AI
In addition to youth and women, radio — when supported by simple AI applications — can play an important role in accompanying older adults, especially those experiencing isolation or early cognitive decline. Familiar voices, regular programming, and clear messages help maintain a sense of connection, reduce anxiety, and reinforce feelings of safety, especially for people who do not feel comfortable with digital technologies or individual screen interaction.
This perspective does not aim to glorify artificial intelligence nor to warn against it, but rather to demystify it and show how it can be used outside of closed technical frameworks and away from screens to serve communities and groups often excluded from digital discussions. Through radio, artificial intelligence becomes more understandable, closer to everyday use, and more aligned with the real needs of people.
At a time when the spread and accessibility of artificial intelligence are sometimes exaggerated, radio — as it always has been — remains a human, local, flexible medium quietly fulfilling an essential role in bridging gaps that technology alone cannot do.

Golda El Khoury is the founder & president of Higher Ground, Adjunct professor at the Paris School of International Affairs (PSIA) of Sciences Po, France and an International Adjunct Professor at Dayananda Sagar University, Bengaluru, India. She is a former senior official at the United Nations and has over 30 years of experience in international development. Her efforts focus on exploring the relationship between diplomacy and multilateralism and their impact on women’s leadership and youth participation. Her work systematically integrates human rights and gender equality dimensions, emphasising the role of youth in driving change and holding stakeholders accountable.