How to learn AI in 2024

Emerging technologies like artificial Intelligence (AI) are constantly evolving. AI is used as shorthand to describe a huge range of technologies from autonomous weapons (killer robots) to Netflix’s personalised recommendations.

When we’re talking about using AI in the charity sector, we’re usually referring to generative or predictive AI tools. You can keep up with news and developments in these areas of AI by bookmarking a few key resources and organisations.

Benchmarking the sector

The Charity Digital Skills Report is an annual check-in on all things digital in the sector. Use it to compare your organisation’s use (or not) of AI in comparison with others.

In 2023 a flash poll on AI usage and relevance to the sector was included and makes for interesting reading. 78% of charities that answered the poll said that they felt AI was relevant to their charity and could transform it, but 76% said they didn’t feel ready to respond to the opportunities and challenges it brings.

AI use cases, regulation, and risk

The EU’s AI Act was approved on 13 March 2024 and sets out a number of requirements for organisations based or operating in Europe. The AI Act sets out a risk classification system ranging from minimal up to unacceptable risk.

Technologies falling into the highest risk category will be prohibited and those deemed high risk will be obliged to take a number of steps before entering the market. Keep up to date with EU legislation – it’s likely to influence the legislative frameworks in other regions.

In the UK, the Charity Commission recommends that charities consider use cases for AI and follow the Commission’s existing guidance for trustees on managing risk. Their advice is updated as the process to legislate for AI moves forward in the UK.

Sector publications are also a resource for information and analysis on what adoption of AI tools could mean for charities. Charity Digital has an AI Hub with webinars, podcasts, and articles. Charity Comms has an AI Hub with a more specific focus on the use of AI in charity comms.

Data and privacy

One of the major risks for charities using AI, is around data sharing and privacy. In the UK, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) exists as an independent body to uphold information rights. They have produced and continue to update specific guidance on AI and data protection.

Zara Rahman has written specifically about the use of data in AI, based on her experience in the non-profit sector. Rahman is a British-Bangladeshi researcher, writer, and activist whose work focuses on context-driven uses of technology and data for social justice.

Her book, Machine Readable Me: The Hidden Ways Tech Shapes Our Identities looks in detail at power dynamics, assumptions, bias, and the fluidity of identity in the context of data collection and use in the public and non-profit sectors.

Bias and AI

Bias can occur in data collection for many reasons, often related to power imbalances, assumptions and the availability of diverse datasets. When machine learning algorithms for AI tools are trained on biased datasets that bias gets baked into the way the tools operate.

Dr Joy Buolamwini is a computer scientist whose work focuses on the social implications of AI. In Unmasking AI: My mission to protect what is human in a world of machines, she describes her work into bias in facial recognition software. Dr Buolamwini has gone on to found the Algorithmic Justice League (AJL) – a movement calling for ethical, responsible, and inclusive AI. AJL’s library is packed with useful resources to support learning about AI in US and global contexts.

In the UK charity sector, Charity Excellence offers a range of resources and tools designed specifically for charities to begin using AI in a responsible way. Founder Ian McLintock has developed an AI Governance and Ethics Framework for charities and written extensively about managing risk. The site also has several AI tools developed using the Charity Excellence AI risk framework that can help charities to find funding, answer governance questions, get gifts in kind, and uncover information on impact.

The Worshipful Company of Information Technologists has a project specifically designed to support charities with AI – AI for Charities or AI4C is a learning exchange set up in 2018. AI4C offers quarterly learning exchange sessions for charities using AI or machine learning in any aspect of their work.

Inclusion and AI

Ensuring that AI is inclusive is the important aim of We and AI a non-profit working on AI literacy and social inclusion. Part of their work re-frames the narrative around AI to make it accessible to everyone. They have a free library of resources that includes courses, blogs, and toolkits.

Upcoming training courses

• Explore the power of AI and the future of Charity Comms, from the Media Trust
• AI – threat or opportunity – an introduction for charities, from DSC
• AI Masterclass for fundraisers, from Get Grants