Charity insights: harnessing the potential of AI

Any charity devising a strategy on how to put AI to best effect should be guided, first and foremost, by how the technology can be best used to deliver the organisation’s purpose.

The right question to ask is: what are the challenges the charity faces and how can this tool be used to do things better – perhaps more accurately or more efficiently?

Jim Sanders, Director of Innovation at The Royal National Institute of Blind People, reveals: “What really helped us was to focus on our purpose, which is to create a world that works for people with sight loss – that really helped clarify how we could use AI.”

Given that AI software will likely interact with and rely on an organisation’s data, establishing or updating policies around the governance of that data is essential to making full use of the technology safely.

Digital consultant Zoe Amar says she has come across charities where board members are unaware that some staff are experimenting with tech like ChatGPT without knowing the risks. This also means lessons about how best to use AI aren’t shared within the organisation.

“A good way to get on top of your information governance is to have an open conversation about giving staff time and space to learn about AI within parameters that manage the risk,” says Zoe.

Some of your staff will be excited by AI, some will be daunted, while others may even fear for their jobs. Whatever their attitudes, charities need to take their people with them on this technology journey.

Be transparent about AI plans and educate your people about what AI is, how it will help the charity’s purpose and the restrictions around its use. Don’t make assumptions about people – anyone should be able to use this technology with the right support.

As Ben Bilsland of RSM says: “Leaders should be thinking about how AI can impact their workforces. AI can be deployed to augment the workforce to make them productive. It will not necessarily make swathes of people redundant, but it could transform the way they work.”

AI is not new to some charitable organisations. The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), for example, has been using the technology for more than 15 years on projects that include a transcription service to put bank statements into braille.

More recently, the RNIB has been working with Microsoft on a version of ChatGPT, which is already being used to help telephone operators answer questions from callers on the organisation’s helpline.

To extend the helpline so that it’s available on 24-hour basis, the RNIB is now looking at the feasibility of a chatbot version of the service.

Partnerships with commercial organisations – like the RNIB’s work with Microsoft to augment its telephone helpline with AI support – can bring a valuable injection of tech skills into charities.

Director of Innovation Jim Sanders points to the many benefits of RNIB’s “rich history of partnership” with not only Microsoft but also Google and Apple. “Our mission is making a world that works for blind and partially sighted people – but that doesn’t mean we have to own and do everything.”

RNIB’s experience is that businesses are often keen to help, so charities need to think smart about how they can partner with organisations to help accelerate what they are trying to deliver.