Commissioners of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) on Tuesday, 3 February 2026, participated in an interactive and strategic session on artificial intelligence, with a particular focus on large language models and their increasing relevance to public sector work and development planning.

The session introduced participants to the fundamentals of large language models, explaining how systems such as ChatGPT are trained on vast volumes of data to understand, generate and respond to human language.

Mr Fred Amoateng, a representative of the United Nations Development Planning Committee, who facilitated the session, highlighted that beyond text generation, modern AI tools are now capable of acting on user instructions. He noted that this marks a new phase in AI development, where systems can support decision making and task execution.

The presentation explored a range of generative AI applications, including text creation, research support, report summarisation, article writing, image generation, music composition and video creation. He observed that these technologies are already reshaping creative industries and professional workflows, often making it difficult to distinguish between human created and AI generated content.

The facilitators introduced the Commissioners to multimodal AI, which integrates different forms of data such as text, images and sensor inputs. Practical examples were drawn from the health sector, where AI systems assist medical professionals by analysing X rays, MRI scans, patient records and vital signs to support diagnosis. Other applications discussed included autonomous vehicles and personalised services in retail, where AI systems analyse user behaviour to provide tailored recommendations.

The session further examined the relevance of AI to development professionals, civil servants and government leaders. The facilitators emphasised that AI can process large volumes of data rapidly, offer clarity in emerging policy areas and remain continuously available as a support tool, unlike human collaborators who may be constrained by time and availability.

As part of the session, Commissioners engaged in a live practical exercise using ChatGPT. They were guided on how to access the platform on their mobile phones or laptops and tasked to generate recommendations on improving Ghana’s national development planning. The exercise demonstrated how prompt design influences the quality of AI generated outputs and stimulated discussion on effective and responsible AI use.

Participants took turns to ask questions and share observations from the exercise, while the facilitators addressed misconceptions around AI prompting and usage. The Chairman of the Commission, Dr. Nii Moi Thompson, later thanked the facilitation team for the insightful presentation and encouraged members to continue exploring AI tools to enhance efficiency and innovation in their work.