US funded foreign assistance as we knew it on January 19th is gone. That is now the “before times” in international development. Today, USAID is defunded and the State Department is struggling to step in. About 85% of US government funding is gone and over 20,000 jobs in the USA are lost. Or as several... The post How Foreign Assistance Can Survive (and Thrive!) in 2025 appeared first on Technology Salon.| Technology Salon
Recent research found surprisingly little change in foreign assistance processes over the last 25 years, regardless of the Administration or its political affiliation. That history is poised to change. This was the basis for our Technology Salon that Envisioned USAID under Trump 2.0. The incoming Trump administration, Republican leadership of the Presidency, House, Senate, and... The post How Foreign Assistance Priorities Will Be Different Under Trump 2.0 appeared first on Technology Salon.| Technology Salon
Our November 14th Tech Salon asked whether it’s safe to use AI to conduct research on Gender Based Violence (GBV) and Violence against Children (VAC). Tesmer Atsbeha, Senior Program Officer, Wellspring Philanthropic Fund; and Diane Chang, Safety Product Manager, Cohere were our lead discussants, and we also heard from a lively group of participants from... The post Are We Aware How GBV and VAC Research Spaces are Changing? appeared first on Technology Salon.| Technology Salon
The governance of artificial intelligence—covering its design, deployment, and use—is rapidly emerging as one of the most critical social and political issues of our time. Our political landscape is marked by a polycrisis of rising violence, threats to democracy, escalating inequality, and climate collapse. Profit-driven AI solutions often worsen these issues, forcing communities to confront... The post Global Citizen Deliberation Achieves Better Artificial Intelligence Governance appeare...| Technology Salon
Our discussion of How to Assess Artificial Intelligence Impacts in International Development? at the recent Technology Salon DC had its very premise questioned at the start. We should not be asking how we can assess AI when international development organizations decide to adopt the new technology. We must start assessing AI now. Why? Because we... The post We Must Assess Artificial Intelligence Impact Today in International Development appeared first on Technology Salon.| Technology Salon
Development and humanitarian agencies are in a strategic position to broker relationships around artificial intelligence (AI) solutions. They often have access to desirable data about un- or underrepresented communities, and they can facilitate the entry of tech and data companies into frontier markets. Without careful scrutiny and purposeful partnering, however, social sector organizations can serve... The post AI for Good Partnerships Reveal Old Challenges with New Technology appeared first...| Technology Salon
All the hype around artificial intelligence – including generative AI – really starts with “old school” machine learning. The grandest large language models are basically algorithms looking at reams of data. That means training data is key for any GenAI activity, and an AI activity. The most accomplished GenAI tools are software agents that return... The post You Need Generative AI Guidance and Data Governance Policy appeared first on Technology Salon.| Technology Salon
Our March 11 Technology Salon in New York City welcomed managers and directors from some 25 organizations for a discussion (therapy session?!) on how to manage the pain points of Artificial Intelligence (AI) adoption at development, humanitarian, and other non-profit organizations. Kick-starting the discussion were Friederike Schüür, UNICEF’s Chief of Data Strategy and Data Governance;... The post 10 Ways to Help Your Organization Adopt Artificial Intelligence appeared first on Technology...| Technology Salon
The release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT and similar chatbots like Google’s Gemini and Anthropic’s Claude has re-ignited the discussion around how we can manage and direct artificial intelligence (AI) solutions. A common challenge with these and other AI and machine learning (ML) systems is their Silicon Valley heritage that often excludes the lived experiences of Africans... The post How Ghanaians Can Engage with and Create Generative AI Solutions appeared first on Technology Salon.| Technology Salon
Generative AI (GenAI) models like DALL-E and ChatGPT showcase the creativity and utility of AI. Yet these tools – which can generate realistic image, audio and video simulations at scale and then personalize this content – have serious implications for how much people trust the information they see and hear. Civil society organizations are highly...| Technology Salon
The Technology Salon™ is an intimate, informal, and in-person, discussion between technology experts and international development professionals, with a focus on both technology's impact on donor-sponsored technical assistance delivery, and private enterprise driven economic development, facilitated by technology.| Technology Salon
Technology Salon NYC (TSNYC) was started by Linda Raftree in 2011. TSNYC brings together a diverse and experienced group of national and international NGO practitioners and managers, foundation representatives, academic researchers, evaluators, UN agencies, technology creators, design firms, media professionals and social entrepreneurs. We tackle tough topics in a safe space that sparks opportunities for cross-sectoral learning and development of contacts and partnerships. Salons also serve a...| Technology Salon
