Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Good

International development professionals have successfully implemented several techniques using artificial intelligence to provide practical solutions to complex situations. The AI ecosystem can help create a conducive climate for sustainable development by increasing the demand for a skilled workforce.

The Pros and Cons

Utilizing data, experience, machine learning, and technology offers new ways to address economic development challenges and enhance decision-making.

For instance, the U.S. Agency for International Development promotes incorporating artificial intelligence into the initiatives they fund. The collection of AI use cases includes 15 activities scheduled for 2023. USAID utilized artificial intelligence in health to enhance COVID-19 vaccination distribution, anticipate hospital bed occupancy, and forecast tuberculosis medication needs.

Additional instances encompass AI applications such as social media monitoring, urban vulnerability mapping, and rhino horn detection in travelers' luggage. The initiatives demonstrate the beneficial effects of AI tools on worldwide development endeavors.

Although the emphasis is on the advantages of these applications, AI can potentially cause harm. The USAID paper "Making AI Work for International Development" identifies potential pitfalls in AI models, primarily from inaccuracies in training data or algorithms.

Based on our international development expertise, data accuracy can vary depending on the field and location, often owing to data entry errors, incomplete entries, or unavailability. Challenges also arise from the reluctance to disclose data due to concerns about privacy, private ownership, security, or authority.

Technology developers unfamiliar with specific national contexts may implement the algorithm. This could introduce biases or personal influences that may harm the accuracy of the outcome.

The USAID research identifies several risk factors, one of which is excessive trust. Literature extensively explores the theme of artificial intelligence (AI) and trust, often discussing the risks associated with relying too much on AI-generated results.

AI tool adoption is inversely related to people's skill levels. Research indicates that individuals with more expertise are less inclined to incorporate AI advice into their decision-making process, and conversely. When introducing AI applications in low-income nations to address strategic or essential issues, it is important to address and reduce the risks associated with inaccuracies and excessive dependence on AI. We must enhance the data and human resources infrastructure to support human and digital resources effectively in the long term.

The Lucrative AI Job Market

Despite widespread concerns, job displacement by AI is not a significant human resources issue in the development sector. The AI ecosystem has the potential to create numerous job opportunities for certain economies when individuals possess the necessary abilities.

The USAID Artificial Intelligence Action Plan proposes strategies to enhance ecosystems that promote responsible AI usage and explains how USAID initiatives may promote AI readiness in the labor market. Ensuring that the staff is trained to consistently utilize, maintain, and enhance any AI technologies provided through donor programs is crucial for the program's long-term success. Several initiatives have not been able to sustain themselves once donor funding ceased.

Most job preparedness programs provide technical and soft skills training to prepare participants for employment. Our experience shows that a supply-side approach yielded insufficient job placement results. A demand-based design, which qualifies unemployed individuals for existing job openings in collaboration with the private sector, outperformed the supply-side method.

In the AI industry, the need will encompass abilities related to data functions, algorithm creation, coding, maintenance, sustainability of AI tools, infrastructure, integration, and ethics. Collaborative training programs and university curricula should be developed with industry partners to align with their operational structures and recruitment requirements.

AI Specializations

Cultural stigmas in developing countries may affect specific jobs, but the ICT sector has a competitive edge in luring more women and adolescents to employment. This can be specifically true in more conservative parts of the world.

AI and ICT applications have a broad reach across various sectors. Proficient individuals can build jobs in several fields, such as health, finance, democracy and government, agriculture, education, and more.

Furthermore, the worldwide demand for AI skills indicates that a skilled workforce in this field can expand beyond a limited economy and effectively share information with other countries, aiding in their adoption of this technology.

AI is more than just a collection of helpful tools. Artificial intelligence is a transformative technology system that can generate employment opportunities, accomplish development goals, and contribute to the fulfillment of the Sustainable Development Goals.