OpenAI Brings AI Jam for Disaster Management to Bangkok

Fifty disaster management leaders from 13 countries across Southeast and South Asia gathered in Bangkok today for OpenAI's inaugural AI Jam for Disaster Management professionals, organized with the Gates Foundation, the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC), and DataKind. The initiative aims to answer one question, which OpenAI frames as simple but urgent: how can AI help governments and nonprofits respond faster and more effectively when it matters most?

The stakes are measurable. Asia is the world's most disaster-prone region, accounting for an estimated 75% of people affected by disasters globally, according to figures cited by OpenAI. The World Bank estimates disasters have cost ASEAN countries more than $11 billion in previous years. In the second half of last year, a series of typhoons and severe storms across South and Southeast Asia disrupted communities and stretched disaster response systems to their limits.

Who attended and why it matters

Participants came from Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam. They represent government agencies, multilateral organizations, and non-profits. Many work directly in disaster response on the ground — coordinating information, supporting affected communities, and making time-critical decisions under pressure.

Their operating conditions are harsh. Disaster response teams often work in resource-constrained environments with fragmented data, manual processes, and limited infrastructure. Those constraints slow coordination and delay critical decisions, especially in fast-moving situations where timely information is essential. Many teams are already exploring how AI can support these workflows.

The Jam also builds on the expansion of OpenAI's "OpenAI for Countries" program announced at Davos. OpenAI says the goal is to move organizations beyond general interest in AI and into real-world applications embedded in the operational challenges they face daily — a shift from demos to deployment.

People are already using AI in crises

Internal OpenAI data shows that when disasters strike, usage of its tools surges. During Cyclone Ditwah in Sri Lanka, cyclone-related messages on ChatGPT jumped 17-fold. During Cyclone Senyar in November 2025, Thailand saw a similar spike: message volume rose 3.2 times compared with the months prior.

OpenAI reads those numbers as evidence that civilians already turn to AI for information and guidance during emergencies — before formal response systems have integrated the technology into their own workflows. The company says this points to a clear opportunity to embed AI more directly in how response teams gather information, make decisions, and communicate during crises.

Building custom GPTs, not slideware

The session format was hands-on. Participants worked side by side with OpenAI mentors to find practical ways AI can support their daily work. Rather than starting from scratch, they explored building custom GPTs and reusable workflows applicable across situations — from situation reporting to needs assessment and public communication. The sessions also emphasized responsible use and building institutional trust in adopting AI technologies, a nod to the governance concerns that have slowed public-sector AI adoption elsewhere.

Professor Dr Yodchanan Wongsawat, a member of the House of Representatives in Thailand, opened the session by stressing public-private collaboration in strengthening disaster preparedness and response across the region.

"In the future, the most powerful AI won't just be the smartest, it will be the most accessible. Technology only matters if it reaches the people who need it most. The capabilities to solve real-world challenges already exist today, and collaborations like this between OpenAI, ADPC, and the Gates Foundation show how bringing together expertise across sectors can turn that potential into scalable, real-world solutions," Wongsawat said.

Sandy Kunvatanagarn, Head of Public Policy at OpenAI, framed the Jam's purpose in terms of closing the gap between AI capability and field practice.

"This session is aimed at closing the gap between what AI can do and how it's actually used in the field. Across Asia, there's strong momentum and interest in AI, but the real opportunity is turning that into practical capability. By working directly with disaster-response professionals, we can ensure these tools are useful, accessible, and grounded in real-world needs," Kunvatanagarn said.

Dr. Valerie Nkamgang Bemo, Deputy Director of Emergency Response at the Gates Foundation, tied the effort to investment in human capacity.

"Equipping the people closest to communities with the knowledge and skills to harness the power of digital tools and emerging technologies like AI is one of the most powerful investments we can make in disaster preparedness and response. We're proud to bring together partners across the region and to see it translate into tools that can be put to work right away," Bemo said.

Mr. Aslam Perwaiz, ADPC's Executive Director, described how his organization already applies AI in its technical stack — and what a literacy-focused event could add.

"AI is opening new possibilities for how we understand and respond to disasters. ADPC integrates AI into geospatial tools and risk analytics to transform satellite and earth observation data into actionable insights. AI Skills Jam could improve AI literacy and empower people to find solutions to disaster challenges. We can combine AI tools with regional expertise and partnerships to strengthen early warning systems, improve risk mapping, and support faster, more informed decision-making for communities and governments across the region," Perwaiz said.

Why this matters beyond Bangkok

The event sits at the intersection of two trends. First, AI vendors are racing to prove their models deliver value in high-stakes public-sector settings, where procurement is slow and failure carries human costs. Disaster response offers a concrete, high-urgency test case. Second, Asian governments and civil-society organizations are under real pressure: the region absorbs the majority of global disaster impact, and the systems coordinating response often still run on manual processes and fragmented data.

The usage data from Cyclones Ditwah and Senyar adds a third dimension. Civilians are not waiting for institutional adoption — they are already querying ChatGPT during active emergencies. That creates both an opportunity, for response systems that meet people where they seek information, and a responsibility, for accurate, timely guidance under crisis conditions.

The Bangkok Jam also signals how OpenAI is operationalizing its "OpenAI for Countries" expansion beyond infrastructure and access, toward domain-specific capacity building with institutional partners. Co-convener status given to the Gates Foundation and ADPC gives the effort development-sector legitimacy that pure commercial AI deployments often lack in the region.

What comes next

OpenAI and its partners are exploring a second phase in the coming months, focused on pilot deployments and deeper technical collaboration with participating organizations across the region. Whether the custom GPTs built in Bangkok graduate into production tools used during the next typhoon season will be the practical test of the initiative — and a signal of whether AI literacy programs like this can convert regional enthusiasm for AI into operational capability where disaster response systems are most strained.