The rise of tech and AI has posed incredible opportunities for human thriving and collective action to advance social good. Our wonderful panel of speakers discussed the importance of cross-sector collaboration, considerations for responsible AI, and tech funding to ensure a human-centered and equitable approach to advancing tech for good.
Our amazing speakers -
Moderator: Aniyia Williams, Principal at Omidyar Network
Amy Guterman, Senior Director of Innovation in Philanthropy at Salesforce
Diana Mao Kelly, President at Nomi Network
Event Recap
The Power of Cross-Sector Tech Collaboration in Furthering Equitable Impact
Cross-sector collaboration is crucial to innovate towards meaningful tech impact. Whether you are a tech company, funder, coalition member, or nonprofit, it is important to share your unique perspective and bridge meaningful connections with others to enrich a diverse tech impact ecosystem and foster spaces for collaborative innovation and problem-solving. This could look like:
As a nonprofit: sharing valuable grassroots knowledge with funders and companies about the impact of AI in perpetuating social issues, to educate them on the consequences and rippling effects of AI on diverse communities.
As a systems connector: creating tech communities and spaces for like-minded technologists to ideate together towards tech solutions for particular social problems, or leveraging networks to create cross-sector collaborations on how tech can continue to be used for good.
As a company or funder: providing pro bono advisory or board services, access to tech knowledge and tools, or safeguarding frameworks that guide responsible AI practices to nonprofits with limited access to tech knowledge and resources.
“Good ideas or innovative solutions don’t come from one place or person; they come from a diversity of experiences and draw on everyone’s unique strengths and expertise to unlock new solutions or scale existing promising solutions. This is the way innovation gets done.”
Tech-Driven Philanthropy & Artificial Intelligence
To advance tech for good, those within the philanthropic ecosystem have a responsibility to continue educating themselves and each other on ways to interact with AI responsibly to caution against the dangers of AI and to advance its benefits to scale positive impact.
Nonprofits: While it is often difficult for nonprofits to prioritize time and resources for AI tools, sometimes stepping back and focusing on technological implementation can multiply the initial intended impact for internal operation efficiencies and programmatic impact. It is also wise for nonprofits to proactively analyze ways that AI may be used to advance the very social problems they seek to solve, so they can better prepare future strategies to combat these harmful AI effects.
Funders: While some funders approach AI with hesitation due to unknown negative consequences of AI funding, funders should get deeply comfortable and educated about AI to develop meaningful criteria and frameworks to critically think about investments that will encourage nonprofits to safely and responsibly use AI for increased impact. Funders should provide risk-tolerant capital that allows nonprofits room for tech experimentation, and consider equitable, holistic approaches to funding marginalized communities in their tech journeys to bridge the digital divide.
While it is exciting to consider the implications and impacts of tech, our speakers never lost sight of a strong, centralized point: Tech has, and always should be, used to complement and advance human-centered solutions with human connections at the center of social transformation.
“If the good can scale, the harm can scale.”
“People first, technology second.”
Resources mentioned:
Omidyar Network's The Tech We Want
Reboot the Earth social coding event
Salesforce's pro bono support, AI for Impact Accelerator, and Trusted AI Principles
Anago AI training services
Policy framework for local governments being developed by MetroLab Networks
Board.Dev working to put tech executives on nonprofit boards
*This summary was supported by the use of generative AI tools.