As we experience change at an exponential rate, with new technologies omnipresent and democracy faltering on unsettled ground, how can philanthropy support the 1.5 billion unbanked people worldwide who are being left behind? In increasingly cashless societies with growing income inequality, these unbanked people may often be the ones to pay the greatest price for our fast-changing world.
Some solutions exist for the widening chasm. Coordinated efforts to achieve economic inclusion can help improve livelihoods, reduce poverty and advance equality for poor and vulnerable populations. Economic inclusion involves the integration of poor and vulnerable individuals and households into broader economic and community development processes. But even as economic inclusion and inequality have become defining political, social and economic issues, we need to be bolder in considering solutions.
Philanthropy’s risk capital is well positioned to think creatively and build new tools to create a more inclusive economy. Ironically, society may find one answer to this challenge in an area that, simultaneously, it must watch for misuse — the transformative potential of generative artificial intelligence (AI).
AI holds immense promise for driving innovation and efficiency across various sectors, yet its unchecked proliferation also raises significant ethical concerns. For philanthropy to mitigate the toughest challenges of our time and build an inclusive economy, the sector needs to be a part of the AI conversation, shaping and supporting the development of more ethical guidelines as well as backing efforts to use AI to shape a more just and equitable world.
Cross-sector collaboration, including U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris’ $200 million, foundation-supported initiative to mitigate AI’s harms and promote responsible use and innovation, is important and already underway.
According to the Ford Foundation, one of the participating philanthropies in the initiative, “As the development and deployment of AI systems accelerates, including the growing use of generative AI across our economy and society, dedicated and coordinated action across sectors is critical to address existing harms and emerging challenges together.”
With a focus on democracy, innovating in the public interest, empowering workers to thrive amid AI changes, improving transparency and accountability, and supporting the development of international AI rules and norms, this initiative is a great example of how philanthropy can take a seat at the table to help shape the evolution of the sector and mitigate some of the harm AI can cause.
Beyond acting as an AI watchdog, philanthropy should also reimagine AI as an enabler and important pillar upon which inclusive economies can grow and flourish.
AI has the potential to foster economic inclusion in several ways, including improving access to new financial products and services which are fit for purpose for underserved and unserved populations. By using chatbots, robo-advisors and mobile platforms that communicate in accessible language instead of financial jargon, financial services powered by AI can be more affordable and accessible. In Latin America, AI is making it possible for micro-entrepreneurs and small business owners to go beyond the bounds of physical bank branches to access banking services and credit, which was not possible before.
Beyond financial tools and literacy, AI can impact the economy by providing better access to essential services such as healthcare, especially in remote or unserved areas. It can also — if utilized correctly — promote fairness and equity in our economy by helping to identify and mitigate biases in decision-making processes, such as hiring and lending, and by promoting fairness and equal opportunities for all individuals, regardless of their background.
The sector can learn from Vilas Dhar, the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation’s president, who recently doubled down on AI advancement with a round of grantmaking totaling $66.4 million. At the 2023 Trust Conference in London, he urged philanthropy and civil society as a whole to consider AI with the principles of “imagination, equity and dignity” in mind during this formative period. He encouraged funders to expand the way they think of AI to include creative uses, such as the First Languages AI Reality (FLAIR) initiative, a system that reclaims Indigenous languages through the use of advanced immersive AI.
During these turbulent times, there is so much at stake. An inclusive economy is the backbone of the resilience communities need. Philanthropy needs to step up and leverage AI in a more responsible and, yes, imaginative way to help build that resilience.
Caroline Suozzi is Thought Leadership and Content Manager at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.
Henrietta Bankole-Olusina is Vice President, Economic Inclusion at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.
