Emerging Technology

Established at 2018 NetHope Global Summit, NetHope's Emerging Technologies Initiative is a sector-wide approach to responsible and sustainable adoption of AI, blockchain, and other emerging technologies in the humanitarian and international development sector.

The initiative is focused on growing NGO’s internal expertise and capacity to evaluate, develop, procure, and use emerging technologies in their work so they can make informed decisions, do their work better, anticipate issues that might arise from emerging technologies like AI and blockchain, and ensure that people in need are aware of the technologies that affect them and their communities.

The Initiative focuses on three priorities for NetHope members:

• Capacity building via workshops, webinars, conferences, and the NetHope Solutions Center featuring practical information about AI/ML capabilities, technology tools & services, and lessons learned from implementations in humanitarian, development and conservation contexts.
• Practical toolkits & standards that are designed to support responsible, sustainable and consistent implementation of AI/ML in the social impact space, and scaling of the most promising programs, processes, and methodologies.
• Support for practical implementations in the form of facilitating access to technical expertise and resources (product and funding).

NetHope members can join the AI Working Group here.

The key component to a successful initiative is the involvement of individuals and organizations actively working on AI/ML and blockchain technologies, as well as NGOs who know the problems that need to be solved, contexts that need to be planned for, and barriers that need to be overcome to make ethical and widespread adoption possible. If you are interested in supporting this initiative, please contact us.

RESOURCES

Articles

AI

• Article: AI in the nonprofit sector: four considerations for building effective partnerships
• Article: Chatbots made in Africa: collective action and lessons learned
• Article: NetHope launches new toolkit to scale AI ethics conversations among nonprofit
• Article: AI in the Humanitarian Sector
• Article: Building responsible organization in the nonprofit sector. It’s imperative.
• Article: AI Ethics: 5 Considerations for Nonprofits
• Announcing the new AI Suitability Toolkit for Nonprofits, please review this blog post.
• Recap of AI for Good discussions at NetHope Summit 2019, please review this blog post.
• Recap of AI for Good discussions at NetHope Summit 2018, please review this blog post.

Digital Identity

• The Future of ‘Good’ Identity

Toolkits

• AI Ethics for Nonprofits Toolkit 
• AI Suitability Toolkit for Nonprofits
• Repository of AI solutions, tools and resources for COVID-19
• Repository of AI/ML tools, services, and trainings

Webinars

AI

• Lessons learned from building chatbots in Africa
• Using satellite imagery and AI in humanitarian contexts
• Lessons Learned from Practical Implementations of AI in the Humanitarian Sector
• AI Ethics webinar series
• AI Primer webinar
• Get your data ready for AI
• Lessons learned from practical implementations of AI in the international development sector, featuring CRS and Compassion International.
• Lessons learned from practical implementations of AI in field programs and internal operations, featuring Plan International and The Carter Center.
• Lessons learned from practical implementations of AI in conservation contexts, featuring The Nature Conservancy and Carnegie Mellon University.
• Demos of AI/ML Tools and Services by AWS, Google, Microsoft and Salesforce.org

Digital Identity and Digital Currencies

• Impact of Digital Currencies on the Nonprofit Sector
• Achieving ‘Good’ Digital ID at Scale with Technical Requirements
• Digital Identity in the Humanitarian Space

Reports and papers

AI

• Exploring Fairness in Machine Learning for International Development by MIT D-Lab, with the support from USAID
• Accelerating social good with artificial intelligence: Insights from the Google AI Impact Challenge
• USAID: Reflecting the Past, Shaping the Future: Making AI Work for International Development
• McKinsey: Applying artificial intelligence for social good

Blockchain

• Outcome document from Blockchain for Social Good Event co-hosted by NetHope and ICSC in New York (March, 2019)

If you work for a NetHope member organization you can access additional information on the AI Working Group page (login required).