“It was a Close Protection Officer...who heard me. Had I not decided to knock exactly at that point in time, they would have repaired the backhoe [and] started to dig. They would’ve destabilised the area over which I was lying and I would not be sitting here today.”

It’s been over ten years since Senior Civil Affairs Officer, Jens Kristensen found himself trapped in the earthquake that hit Haiti’s Hotel Christopher. Jens recounts his harrowing experience of being confined in a dark coffin-like space for five days with no water or drink, not knowing when, or if, he would be rescued. He also explains his remarkable decision to return to work after just two days following the rescue knowing that “mentally and physically I was capable and still able to help.” 

“It was a terrible, terrible disaster for the UN. For Haiti. For the world...I think that finding me as a survivor gave people hope. It was a light in the darkness. People were there. People were cheering. It was a new birthday.”

S3-Episode 22: Light in the Darkness - Jens Kristensen (Haiti)

As the world faces simultaneous disasters and burgeoning risks, humanitarian actors need to develop more efficient ways of delivering aid to vulnerable populations. One current trend involves the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) to process large amounts of data quickly to inform – and even autonomously undertake – decision-making processes. While these processes have the potential to facilitate faster and better anticipatory humanitarian action, they can pose unforeseen challenges if left unregulated and unchecked.

In this post, Christopher Chen, Associate Research Fellow at the Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, explores the promise and perils of using artificial intelligence and machine learning in the context of anticipatory humanitarian action. Building on insights gleaned from a data governance and protection workshop co-hosted by the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies and the ICRC, he highlights some of the implications of the use of new technologies in humanitarian action and how the principle of ‘do no harm’ can be applied in a digital age.

The future is now: artificial intelligence and anticipatory humanitarian action

Joanna van der Merwe, a Defense Tech Fellow from The Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) speaks with Sarah Spencer about the war and escalating humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, hybrid warfare and the challenges and threats humanitarian actors face in the age of AI.

Joanna van der Merwe from The Center for European Policy Analysis

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.

Kyrylo Lapko with SpivDiia and NeedsList

When first ever World Humanitarian Summit got underway, one of the world’s most respected humanitarian organizations wasn't there. Doctors Without Borders decided to pull out.  The organization acknowledged that the gathering has “never been more needed,” but also noted that shocking violations of international humanitarian law and refugee rights continue daily. They say the summit has become a “fig leaf of good intentions." We speak to Sandrine Tiller from Doctors Without Borders UK.

Doctors Without Borders Explains Decision to Pull Out of World Humanitarian Summit

Humanitarian AI Today's host Mia Kossiavelou speaks with Kate Dodgson and Robert Trigwell about the Humanitarian Data Science and Ethics Group and DSEG’s new Framework for the Ethical Use of Advanced Data Science Methods in the Humanitarian Sector. Kate is a consultant with the Data Science Initiative in the Hague and Rob is an Analytical, Knowledge and Output (AKO) Unit Lead at the United Nations International Organization for Migration.

Robert Trigwell from IOM and Kate Dodgson from the Data Science Initiative

Humanitarian AI Today's host Mia Kossiavelou speaks with Sarah Spencer, an independent consultant and Civil Servant with the UK Department for International Development, specializing in social development, conflict related programing and providing guidance on incorporating frontier technologies, AI and machine learning into existing and planned humanitarian programming.

Sarah Spencer, Independent Consultant and DFID Civil Servant

Humanitarian AI Today is the leading AI for Good podcast series focusing on humanitarian applications of artificial intelligence. We interview leaders, developers and innovators advancing humanitarian applications of AI from across the tech and humanitarian communities. The series is produced by the Humanitarian AI meetup.com community, linking local groups in Cambridge, San Francisco, Seattle, New York City, Toronto, Montreal, London, Paris, Berlin, Oslo, Geneva, Zurich, Bangalore, Tel Aviv and Tokyo.

Kyrylo Lapko with SpivDiia and NeedsList

Humanitarian AI Today

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