How AI could transform companies’ sustainability efforts

That was the question business leaders in the corporate social responsibility space discussed during a roundtable at wealthAtlanta, Georgia Impact Initiative. Led by Jamila Cowan, director of strategic relationships, sustainability and ESG at Dell Technologies, Nathan Froelich, managing director and head of YourCause at Blackbaud, Justina Nixon-Saintil, VP and chief impact officer at IBM. The leaders discussed the many use cases for AI and how their companies are implementing it.

Cowan said Dell is already using AI in a number of ways with different customers, including partnering with cities to create a digital assistant to deliver information to citizens, particularly in communities where members speak many different languages ​​and need to access information in case of emergency.

Beyond digital assistants, IBM’s Nixon-Saintil said they are able to work with governments and nonprofits to build climate forecasting models, for example, that can help access climate data and mitigate the impacts of climate change.

Leaders also focused on access: How to enable connectivity around the world and how to prepare people to use the tools that come their way. IBM is working with colleagues to train teachers on the technology, with the intention of students outside of STEM courses becoming AI fluent, Nixon-Saintil says. She hopes other companies will start implementing similar programs.

“There is no competition here. There is enough need for all of us to figure out how we help support these different populations,” says Nixon-Saintil. “How do we make sure we give them free access?”

The integration of artificial intelligence has given rise to fears that marginalized groups around the world will be left behind and lack access and training with this technology. Core generative AI skills will soon be table stakes in many professions, Froelich said. He added that companies should consider how they can help reskill workers around the world.

“Six months, a year from now, when you sit down for an interview and the interviewer says, ‘you know how to use AI, you can be a prompt engineer,’ and you say no, you’re probably not going to get that job,” he said. he said, adding that using the AI ​​genre is a “human skill.” “That awareness and skill development is for everyone. And we’re still behind the eight ball where we should be.”

Given the ethical concerns, Nixon-Saintil said IBM has an AI ethics committee that meets sometimes several times a month to keep the company on track. She and the other speakers said it is imperative that members of companies’ corporate social responsibility teams and ESG teams be on these committees.

“If your company has an AI advisor looking at the use of AI, you should be on that advisor, you should be the voice of the community, for how it’s done ethically and responsibly,” Froelich said.