In May 2023, following the consumerization of generative AI applications, we published the first edition of this Guide. At the time, we explored some of the newly emerged tools to investigate how they might be useful to nonprofits. We saw the clear potential of creating efficiencies for many of the day-to-day tasks of nonprofit workers, as well as the risks related to their use - which we as a sector need to mitigate.
Eighteen months down the line, the conversation has expanded dramatically. Not only do we see generative AI incorporated in many use cases, but also a renewed focus on the application and, importantly, the scaling of solutions using other types of AI, such as machine learning and natural language processing, which have been in use within the nonprofit sector for years. We see the emergence of powerful applications that combine different types of AI, such as generative AI powered chatbots that can interact with humans by speaking their language.
This second release of the Guide will therefore look at the usefulness of AI from different angles, exploring not just the more generic use of generative AI tools across the different activities of any nonprofit organization, but looking at how AI does support and enable our missions.
Today we are presenting Part 1, focusing on Humanitarian AI, and I can think of no one better than Gisli Olafsson, NetHope’s former Emergency Response Director, to have written this document.
Complete the form below to access and download, The Guide to Usefulness of Existing AI Solutions in Nonprofit Organizations | October 2024 Edition Part 1 - Humanitarian AI
To access the The Guide to Usefulness of Existing AI Solutions in Nonprofit Organizations | October 2024 Edition Part 1 - Humanitarian AI toolkit, please complete the form below for a download link.
AI has the potential to transform humanitarian work, and this Guide provides an overview and lists examples of existing useful applications. More projects are underway and one of our challenges will be to systematically assess their outcomes, and to scale up those solutions that deliver impact.
The well-known risks and limitations of AI in the nonprofit sector are still here, too; with capacity building and funding among them – those are blockers for the broad use of beneficial solutions that need to be addressed by the community of nonprofits, donors, institutions and governments.
Other risks and ways to address them are listed in the second half of this document. The Humanitarian AI Code of Conduct, put together by the Members of NetHope’s AI working group, provides a framework to inform nonprofit organizations’ policies around the responsible use of AI, and encourages nonprofits to collaborate, learn from each other, and ensure they keep building their understanding of the evolving technology and use cases, as well as influence and apply the also evolving legislation and ethical principles for the use of humanitarian AI.
Finally, the advance of AI solutions risks further augmenting new digital gaps in skills, protection, inclusion, transformation, and, at this writing, AI demands enormous amounts of energy that could contribute to accelerating climate shocks. As humanitarians, we need address and mitigate those risks for the sake of the communities we serve.
– Daniela Weber, Director of NetHope’s Center for the Digital Nonprofit
To support nonprofits in navigating the risks of AI use, NetHope has published many other resources on AI, including the AI Suitability Toolkit for nonprofit organizations, and the AI ethics for nonprofit organizations toolkit.
Appreciation is extended to the founders and partners of NetHope’s Center for the Digital Nonprofit.
