ICTworks

The hype around artificial intelligence is reaching a fevered pitch in the global economy. In international development, there are Nethope webinars, TechChange courses, and USAID guides to build our excitement around this new technology.

Of course, there is real reason to be excited, with innovations like:

• Natural language processing improving how we interact with constituents.
• Pattern recognition helping recognize diseases in plants and humans.
• Machine learning accelerating data analysis and bias identification.

Yet, the peak of the hype cycle is also when we should pause and take a hard look at what is real, and what is just aspiration.

What are practical applications of artificial intelligence?

Technology Salons next month in Washington, DC and Johannesburg, SA will be taking a close look at artificial intelligence in international development. We want to dive into real examples, understand the risks and rewards, and publish a comprehensive guide to who is innovating, and what they are learning.

Please submit your examples now on the topics, innovations, and people who have moved beyond talk, and into action with artificial intelligence. Those who submit ideas (gratuitous self-promotion is encouraged) will have priority in attending Tech Salon DC. Those in SA should RSVP now.

What are ethical considerations and moral obligations?

With any new technology, we should be thoughtful in our usage as we develop best practices and identify failures. Artificial intelligence is no different. In fact, it may even be a greater quandary than usual, with four deep issues quickly coming to mind:

• Creating unfair exclusion, especially of traditionally under represented groups
• Reproducing existing inequities through algorithm or application bias
• Obscuring accountability behind proprietary data and code
• Premature automation that increases risk with untested ideas

What other issues should we be concerned about when using artificial intelligence, especially in developing countries?  Tell us now, so we can include your comments in the Salon even if you can’t participate in-person.