On this episode of the Humanitarian AI Today podcast, Blaise Robert, Global AI Advisor for the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC), joins producer Brent Phillips to discuss his takeaways from the AI for Good Summit, specifically the need for more meaningful collaboration around artificial intelligence. Blaise observes that organizations are still duplicating their efforts to a large degree and could move faster by better sharing their lessons learned. He explores what it would take to elevate collaboration to the next level and truly integrate it into daily work. Tune in to hear his call to action for the humanitarian community: to be open about what works, what doesn't, and the hurdles along the way, so that successes can be shared by all.

The conversation also touches on several other critical areas. Blaise details the ICRC's practical AI projects and how the ICRC is acting on its "responsibility to be more collaborative" by publicly publishing its AI policy and technology strategy as a step toward greater transparency. This approach is vital for turning the vast knowledge accumulated across the sector into actionable intelligence, ensuring that lessons learned from one project can inform the design of the next. He addresses the serious concerns around "digital harm," the ethics of data used to train AI models, and the use of AI in warfare, including autonomous weapons and military decision support. Finally, he discusses the careful balance the ICRC must strike in its relationships with major tech companies to maintain its core principles of independence and neutrality.

Blaise and Brent also discuss emerging AI-powered search tools like Perplexity's new browser, Comet, and the use of large language models to make internal knowledge more accessible. While Roberts acknowledges the "large potential" for such tools in transforming tasks like project evaluation, he also stresses that they must be framed within strong policy and governance frameworks to ensure proper human oversight and responsible use.

Episode notes and transcript: https://medium.com/humanitarian-ai-today/beyond-the-summit-a-push-for-real-ai-collaboration-from-blaise-robert-362ff41bb9d3