At the Forefront of AI for Social Good
J-PAL is helping shape the direction of AI in the social sector and the fight against poverty. By learning from past evaluations and drawing on insights from new evaluations, we aim to maximize its benefits while mitigating potentially dangerous risks.
Advancing a framework for effective AI adoption
AI has the potential to transform our lives. Like the internet or electricity, AI is a general purpose technology that spans sectors. It is also widely accessible, has low marginal cost of implementation, is in reach of anyone with a smartphone, and is constantly improving.
AI has massive potential in fighting poverty through at least the following five channels:
Currently, causal evidence on where and how AI can change society is scarce. Without such evidence, companies, social innovators, and regulators lack the information to maximize the benefits of AI while protecting against its downsides.
As this technical revolution unfolds in real time, we have a responsibility to rigorously study how these technologies can help—or harm—the well-being of people, particularly people who experience poverty.
Over the last year, we have seen how there is a need to conduct new evaluations of AI applications across sectors to understand what does and does not work, and why. Given the nature of this powerful technology, we also realize the need to modify how we evaluate AI based interventions.
That’s why we are setting up a brand-new team dedicated to addressing this challenge. We have been hard at work informing policymakers and powerbrokers worldwide on the importance of rigorous evaluations of AI applications—hear more from our Global Executive Director Iqbal Dhaliwal speaking at Davos in February 2024.
We’ve also started to cement relationships with governments and organizations that are committed to uncovering the many ways AI can be applied to improve the lives of others. For example, with the Government of Telangana in India, we have signed an MoU to begin a research and evaluation partnership that will form an AI research lab to improve governance processes across sectors.
As we learn more about which AI-infused interventions work to improve people’s lives, we will disseminate lessons from evaluations and help policymakers scale up promising innovations. For now, see our AI landing page to learn more about our goals and existing randomized evaluations that have leveraged AI for maximum impact, and stay in touch for the latest updates.
Leadership
Lead photo credit: USAID Global Development Lab, CC BY-NC 2.0