Paper details

Paper authors	Kristin Bergtora Sandvik, Kristoffer Lidén, Maria Gabrielsen Jumbert
In panel on	Practitioner-Academic virtual roundtable: “Taking stock: How is AI change humanitarian work?”
Paper presenter(s) will be presenting	In-Person & Online

Abstract

What will be the impact of AI on humanitarian aid workers and beneficiaries? How will it impact donors and their policies? And how will it affect humanitarian aid accountability? This paper draws together initial reflections on these questions, that will continue to be posed in the humanitarian sector going forward. At this stage, there are more questions than answers in the humanitarian field about the potential of AI, and its inherent risks. In assessing these questions, we take the need for responsible AI, including a concern with risk, bias and meaningful accountability, as our point of departure. First, at present, no major donor country engages extensively with artificial intelligence in their humanitarian policies or in their strategic thinking on aid. How should policy conversations around AI in aid be framed, and how should humanitarian donors position themselves - towards possible uses and misuses? Second, what will be the implications for humanitarian work and workers? Concerned with discrimination, risk and bias in the humanitarian sector, we discuss the need for a responsible and rights-based approach to AI. Third, how can we unpack the humanitarian accountability issue for generative AI - often seen as ungovernable?

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