Today in Bangkok, OpenAI, the Gates Foundation, and partners kicked off the first AI Jam for disaster management, bringing together 50 leaders from 13 Asian countries. The goal isn’t just to talk about AI but to build practical tools that make crisis response faster and smarter. Disaster teams in Asia face fragmented data, manual processes, and tight timelines—things AI could help with, from situation reports to needs assessments. The urgency is real: Asia accounts for 75% of disaster-affected people globally, and recent typhoons stretched systems to the limit. Interestingly, during Cyclones Ditwah and Senyar, people already turned to ChatGPT for info, with message spikes of 17x and 3.2x respectively. This workshop focused on creating custom GPTs and reusable workflows tailored for response teams. Why it matters: This shows AI’s pivot from hype to hands-on impact, embedding it directly into life-or-death operational challenges rather than leaving it as a theoretical concept.