Reading List

A curated reading list for people who build and govern technology in difficult environments. These are the books, papers, and resources that shaped how artificial intelligence, data systems, and digital transformation are applied across 20+ years of United Nations work. The selection favours material that holds up in practice over material that reads well in theory.

Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning

Foundational texts on machine learning, large language models, and retrieval-augmented generation sit at the centre of this list. They are chosen because they explain not only how these systems work, but where they fail, which matters far more when the systems serve displaced populations. The same ideas appear in production across the agentic AI projects documented on this site.

Humanitarian & Development Technology

A second strand covers technology in humanitarian and development contexts: the ethics of data on vulnerable people, inclusive design, and the operational reality of building in resource-constrained settings. These readings connect directly to the work described under AI in the humanitarian sector.

Governance, Security & Strategy

The final strand addresses AI governance, cybersecurity, and digital strategy. It reflects a view that capable systems are only useful when they are also safe, accountable, and well managed. Readers who want the practical side can follow these themes into the blog and the structured learning paths.

How This List Is Chosen

Selection follows one test: did the material change how a real system was built or governed. Books and papers earn a place when they shaped a design decision, prevented a mistake, or explained a failure clearly enough to avoid repeating it. Popularity, marketing, and hype carry no weight. The list stays deliberately small so that every entry is worth the reader's time.

The list is updated as new material proves its worth in real projects. Each entry is included because it changed a decision, not because it was popular.