pAYAL aRORA

Voted by The Times magazine as one of The Best Blogs in Tech
Voted Top 5 in the Technorati Top 100
Winner of the Best Prose Award for Business Books

Payal Arora is a Professor of Inclusive AI Cultures at Utrecht University and the Co-Founder of FemLab, a future-of-work initiative. Her work explores the impact of technology on societies and cultures outside the Western world, with a focus on the intersections of technology and emerging economies. Through in-depth fieldwork and compelling storytelling, Payal’s books, including the acclaimed The Next Billion Users: Digital Life Beyond the West (Harvard Press), have become vital resources for understanding the global tech ecosystem and its cultural and societal nuances.

A renowned digital anthropologist and advocate for equitable technology, Payal has consulted on inclusive innovation, design, and AI ethics for organisations such as Adobe, IDEO, Spotify, Google, UNESCO, KPMG, GE, UNHCR, and HP. Recognised by Forbes as the "next billion champion" and "the right person to reform tech," her work has received widespread media coverage in outlets like the BBC, Financial Times, The Economist, Quartz, TechCrunch, 99% Invisible, and The Boston Globe.

Her latest book, From Pessimism to Promise: Lessons from the Global South on Designing Inclusive Tech, was published by MIT Press and HarperCollins India. Mainstream narratives about technology often paint a grim picture: algorithms that oppress, AI threatening democracy and social cohesion, and even existential risks to humanity. While these concerns are valid, Payal argues that it’s equally important to recognise technology’s transformative potential, particularly for young people. Her research highlights how, outside the West—where 90% of the world’s youth live—technology is seen not as a threat, but as a source of hope and opportunity, offering a rare and valuable space for self-actualisation. In these regions, there is a “contagion of optimism” surrounding all things digital, challenging the predominantly pessimistic global discourse.

Timely and urgent, Payal’s new work makes a deeply compelling case that it is not naive to be optimistic about our digital future. On the contrary, it is our moral imperative to design with hope.

Educated at Harvard and Columbia University, Payal has delivered over 350 talks in 115 cities across 67 countries, sharing the stage with fellow tech leaders like Jimmy Wales and Steve Wozniak on the future of AI, the internet, and innovation. Her expertise is further demonstrated through her Fellow positions at renowned institutions such as General Electric, New York University, ZEMKI Universität Bremen, The Institute for Technology & Society in Rio, and as a Rockefeller Bellagio Resident Alumnus.

“The Next Billion Users is one of the most interesting, thought-provoking books on science & technology we can find.”
- Engadget -

“Payal is one of those rare speakers who is a great storyteller with knowledge that is backed up by comprehensive academic research”
- TechFestival Copenhagen -

Selected Press links: Forbes, Spectrum, Built-In, Tech Crunch, The Hindu, Your Story, Rising Voices