Google has already taken big steps to improve real-world data access for AI. They are working hand-in-hand with the ONE Campaign to make that happen. Together, this partnership seeks to leverage Google’s Data Commons resources to increase public health and economic opportunities across Africa. The two entities collaborated on the design of the One Data Agent. This exciting new tool expands on a custom server prototype that the ONE Campaign helped jumpstart.
Launched in 2018, Google’s Data Commons is a step towards this one-stop data hub. It is an extensive repository that pulls together and organizes public datasets from across the web. These sources range from US Census and Bureau of Labor Statistics government surveys to local detailed administrative data to statistics from international organizations like the United Nations. Through the aggregation of this information into one place, Google’s intent is to make accessing the most critical data easier for researchers, policymakers, and app developers to be.
The ONE Campaign, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving conditions in Africa, approached Google’s Data Commons team with a prototype implementation of the Model Context Protocol (MCP) on its own server. The MCP enables users to leverage the capabilities of large language models to select relevant data efficiently, without needing an in-depth understanding of the data modeling process or API functionality.
Prem Ramaswami, who leads the Google Data Commons project, has underscored the potential of this technology with his resounding declaration,
“The Model Context Protocol is letting us use the intelligence of the large language model to pick the right data at the right time, without having to understand how we model the data, how our API works.”
Their partnership is an example of cutting-edge equipment in action. It’s a big step that shows Google’s aligning to make the most valuable data more accessible and actionable.
Back in May, the Google Data Commons team and the ONE Campaign had some fascinating discussions. In response, they set up a dedicated MCP Server to power the initiative. This powerful server enhances the One Data Agent’s features to maximize its potency. It furthermore automates access to core datasets that are critical to the work of practitioners in public health and economic development throughout Africa.
So save the date for October 27-29, 2025! The big TechCrunch Disrupt event in San Francisco next week will be discussing startups and technology policy, highlighting thrilling developments such as Google’s new Data Commons. Jagmeet Singh, a reporter for TechCrunch, covers significant tech developments from India and will likely provide insights into this partnership.
You can find more than 90 billion datasets on Google’s Data Commons at datacommons.org/data/. This new resource will better equip you to advocate on behalf of the arts and research the intersections between art and other disciplines.
