Building upon the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)’s Equitable AI Challenge, the GeoTech Center hosted the Equitable AI Community of Practice in partnership with DAI and USAID between April and October 2023. The practice fostered a community of AI entrepreneurs, developers, government officials, academics, and private sector stakeholders globally with a vested interest in advancing gender inclusive and equitable AI. Many of the conversations focused on initiatives and issues unique to the Global South.
Key learnings and reflections
Through four public virtual workshops, two private virtual workshops to facilitate greater collaboration and dialogue amongst the community, six newsletters, and a LinkedIn group, the community grew to over 500 active participants. As we reflect on the Equitable AI Challenge and the Equitable AI Community of Practice’s success, four critical lessons are captured in this article.
The Community’s six sessions centered around the following themes:
- Navigating bias throughout the AI lifecycle and reflecting on our own values (private workshop)
- Integrating gender equity into international development and humanitarian assistance applications of AI
- Enabling transparency and accountability for gender equitable AI (private workshop)
- Gender-inclusive AI governance
- Gender representation in AI
- Collective learning, collective action, and next steps
Image credit: USAID and DAI
Featured speakers
Sarah Myers West
Managing Director, AI Now Institute
Former Senior Advisor on AI
Federal Trade Commission
Catherine D’Ignazio
Director, Director, Data + Feminism Lab
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Tina Park
Head of Inclusive Research & Design
Partnership on AI (PAI)
Rutendo Chabikwa
DPhil Candidate and Gender and Technology Consultant
Oxford Internet Institute
Clinton White
Agency Counselor
US Agency for International Development (USAID)
Jamille Bigio
Senior Coordinator for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment
US Agency for International Development (USAID)
Chris Burns
Chief Digital Development Officer and Director for Technology and Director for the Technology Division, Innovation, Technology, and Research Hub
US Agency for International Development (USAID)
Genevieve Smith
Gender & AI Fellow
US Agency for International Development (USAID)
Get involved
Are you or your organization interested in becoming involved with the GeoTech Center and its responsible AI community? Please contact Director of Strategic Partnerships and Initiatives Stephanie Wander at SWander@Atlanticcouncil.org.
Partners
The GeoTech Center was proud to partner with USAID and DAI to facilitate the Equitable AI Community of Practice in 2023.
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Key staff
