While AI can provide solutions to many areas including healthcare, climate change, environment and urban development, there is still a long way to go in this AI transformative journey.
While AI can provide solutions to many areas such as healthcare (discovering new molecules for medicine), climate change (predicting & mitigating floods), environment (efficiently conserving water reserves while flagging up leaks), fintech (un-biased credit scores, access to banking services), urban development (inclusive design in architecture & smart cities), edutech (improving access to knowledge), there is still a long way to go in this AI transformative journey.
Currently, AI’s role in enhancing inclusion remains constrained due to the scarcity of high quality data to allow AI programmes to operate effectively and appropriately. The main hurdle being that since most software has been developed for the global north, products and services adopted globally will continue to face challenges even within orgs., as AI tools used, may often reflect the cultural biases of their creators.
AI BIAS IS A PROBLEM FOR GLOBAL ORGS
It is important that orgs take proactive measures to build & develop AI tools based on clean, proprietary data which reflects their customer and employee communities
When AI models encode patterns and beliefs often based on the creator’s own biases, the technology will continue to perpetuate stereotypes, racism, sexism and more. This could prove problematic (both in country as well as, within global markets & offices), for organisations with customers and employees made up of people from diverse backgrounds & cultures. Biased AI tools could impact the bottom line.
Given the above challenges, it is important that orgs take proactive measures to build & develop AI tools based on clean, proprietary data which reflects their customer and employee communities, by ensuring their engineers and data scientists work closely with their counterparts in diversity & inclusion roles. This is why a Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer (CDIO), reporting direct to the CEO, is just as important as a CTO & CFO.
CAN AI DO FOR INCLUSION, WHAT MOBILE MONEY APPS HAVE DONE IN AFRICA & ASIA?
I strongly believe that AI can do for inclusion what mobile money apps have & are doing to include those often classed as “unbanked” in Africa & Asia. These platforms enable customers to make & accept payments on their mobile phones, thus avoiding 3-12 hr bus rides in to the city or, days sending money from cities to family members in rural communities. Examples include Safricom’s m-Pesa - a Kenyan mobile phone-based real time payments service, money transfer and microfinancing service platform.
With global clients, I have my seen how M-Pesa enables private individuals, SMEs, tech engineers & freelancers to be paid (in real time), by family members, clients & companies both local as well as those based overseas. In addition, women have played a big part in turning m-Pesa into Africa’s largest fintech.
According to Mckinsey (June 2022) mPesa has increased Kenya’s financial inclusion from only 26 percent in 2006 to 84 percent in 2021. The platform has 50 million monthly active customers & velocity of funds is in excess of $315 billion on a yearly basis.
WHEN TECH AND INCLUSION JOIN FORCES
By aligning AI efforts with diversity & inclusion colleagues, we can all play a role in building AI that not only enhances efficiency, but also fosters inclusion, thereby enriching the lives of the many and not just the privileged few. This is the power of technology when utilised with inclusion at the forefront.
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