Humanitarian AI Today

Ximena Contla, NLP Project Manager with Data Friendly Space (DFS) discusses ChatGPT and use of large language models to support Turkey and Syria earthquake response. Guest hosted by Rishi Jha from DFS and Brent Phillips, with Nayid Orozco Bohorquez a Product Lead from DFS and Sylvan Ridderinkhof, a Data Engineer from Zimmerman, an AI data information technology company, joining the conversation, the interview touches on humanitarian emergencies, relief operations in the field, data generated by humanitarian actors, data summarization, open data sharing frameworks like IATI, Data Friendly Space’s Data Entry and Exploration Platform (DEEP), deployment of large language models by humanitarian actors, ethical AI and a range of other subjects.

Aaron Margolis, a Data Scientist researching Responsible AI and Large Language Models, speaks with Brent Phillips, producer of the Humanitarian AI Today podcast series, and Megan DeMatteo, a journalist covering Web3, about ChatGPT. The interview is geared towards helping humanitarian actors get acquainted with emerging new conversational AI applications being developed by OpenAI, Google, Meta and others, large large language models powering them, and setting up, testing and deploying models.

Liam Nicoll, Product Lead with the International Rescue Committee’s Signpost initiative speaks with Humanitarian AI Today guest host Alexandra Pittman, Founder of ImpactMapper, and Brent Phillips about Signpost’s work providing people with accurate, accessible and timely information in times of crisis and about open data sharing, ChatGPT and humanitarian applications of artificial intelligence. This two part interview was recorded live in NYC and then followed-up with a discussion on ChatGPT geared for humanitarian actors.

Join Humanitarian AI Today as guest host Brent Phillips sits down with Bret Kinsella, founder of Voicebot.ai and Synthedia, to delve into the latest advancements in conversational AI and voice technology. Kinsella, a leading expert in the field, will discuss the release of ChatGPT by OpenAI and its potential to revolutionize the humanitarian aid sector. Learn about the capabilities of large language machine learning models for dialogue applications, and gain insights on the direction of this technology and the steps humanitarian organizations should take to adapt and incorporate these powerful tools in their operations by 2023. This podcast is a must-listen for professionals in the humanitarian aid community seeking to stay informed on the latest developments in AI technology.

Kyrylo Lapko with SpivDiia and NeedsList speaks with Humanitarian AI Today guest host Brent Phillips about Ukrainian humanitarian relief organizations, needs across Ukraine this Winter, logistics and import compliance, open data sharing, data and information sensitivity, initiatives like NeedsList and Signpost, and about humanitarian applications of artificial intelligence and new question answering applications like ChatGPT.

Gaurav Nemade, former Product Manager with Google who worked on the development of LaMDA, Google's large language model for dialogue applications, speaks with Christopher Hoffman from Humanity link and Megan DeMatteo, a Journalist covering Web3 about powerful new generative machine learning models. These models have dominated the news this year, spurred by OpenAI's release of ChatGPT. For humanitarian actors, Gaurav goes over how generative machine learning models work and how next-generation chatbots like ChatGPT compare to search engines. Gaurav, Christopher and Megan talk in depth about the accelerating pace of advancements in computing and the types of powerful new conversational AI applications, hybrid search engines and even more powerful machine learning models that humanitarian actors will see emerge in 2023. Gaurav, Christopher and Megan broach the growing impact of AI on the humanitarian sector, challenges and opportunities that humanitarian actors should be conscious of and how humanitarian actors can get involved and contribute to helping train, fine-tune, adapt and improve AI applications, making them suitable for use across the humanitarian community. Interview notes: https://humanitarianaitoday.medium.com/gaurav-nemade-on-humanitarian-ai-today-91d385d4057

Gerd Buta, head of in-kind food operations in Ukraine for the World Food Program (WFP) speaks with Humanitarian AI Today’s guest host Christopher Hoffman from Humanity Link about the World Food Program’s work in Ukraine, conditions on the ground this Winter, aid logistics, open data sharing and about innovative uses of technology and artificial intelligence.

Larissa Doroshenko, a Visiting Lecturer of Communication Studies at Northeastern University, speaks with Humanitarian AI Today’s guest host Jodi Hilton about her computational research studying disinformation and misinformation campaigns with a focus on the war in Ukraine and on the “dark side” of online media.

Larissa received her doctoral degree in Communication Arts with a minor in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her current research explores how marginalized groups, ranging from racial minorities and women politicians to pro-democratic citizens in authoritarian regimes use emerging media to make their voices heard and gain power to drive change.

Scott Ciment, Senior Rule of Law Expert with the University of South Carolina Rule of Law Collaborative speaks with Theodora Gazi, a Lawyer with a PhD in Refugee Law currently with ActionAid about how technology can support efforts to increase access to justice for marginalized groups in developing countries with under-resourced justice systems and about human rights, the war in Ukraine and applications of artificial intelligence.

Heather Leson, Digital Innovation Lead with the Solferino Academy of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and Jenny Paola Yela, Information Management and Data Science Officer with the IFRC speak with Theodora Gazi, a Lawyer with a PhD in Refugee Law currently with ActionAid. Heather Leson and Paola Yela discuss the Solferino Academy’s Data Playbook initiative, the IFRC’s Digital Transformation Strategy and how their teams are working with national societies to support digital transformation and crisis response. Heather and Paola also provide important feedback from national societies on digital innovation and share their thoughts on humanitarian applications of artificial intelligence.