Voices is a new mini-series from Humanitarian AI Today. In daily five-minute flashpods we pass the mic to humanitarian experts and technology pioneers, to hear about new projects, events, and perspectives on topics of importance to the humanitarian community.
In this flashpod, Jessie Pechmann, Humanitarian GIS and Data Protection Lead with Humanitarian OpenStreetMap, speaks with Humanitarian AI Today producer Brent Phillips about satellite imaging, GIS, and the uses of AI in assessing building damage. They touch on how different AI models and methods can produce wildly different results for the same area, highlighting the need for transparency and better validation practices, including humans in the loop providing local knowledge and oversight. They also discuss the importance of "data commons," the open, shared data resources that humanitarian organizations rely on, and the challenges of supporting them amid a shift away from traditional government funding, which risks data becoming "siloed" as funding moves toward philanthropic or paid-for services.
Substack notes: https://humanitarianaitoday.substack.com/p/jessie-pechmann-from-humanitarian
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Voices is a new mini-series from Humanitarian AI Today. In daily five-minute flashpods we pass the mic to humanitarian experts and technology pioneers, to hear about new projects, events, and perspectives on topics of importance to the humanitarian community.
In this flashpod, Jessie Pechmann, Humanitarian GIS and Data Protection Lead with Humanitarian OpenStreetMap, speaks with Humanitarian AI Today producer Brent Phillips about satellite imaging, GIS, and the uses of AI in assessing building damage. They touch on how different AI models and methods can produce wildly different results for the same area, highlighting the need for transparency and better validation practices, including humans in the loop providing local knowledge and oversight. They also discuss the importance of "data commons," the open, shared data resources that humanitarian organizations rely on, and the challenges of supporting them amid a shift away from traditional government funding, which risks data becoming "siloed" as funding moves toward philanthropic or paid-for services.
Substack notes: https://humanitarianaitoday.substack.com/p/jessie-pechmann-from-humanitarian
Shannon Farley on Fast Forward's 2025 AI for Humanity Report
Humanitarian AI Today
11 minutes 28 seconds
1 month ago
Shannon Farley on Fast Forward's 2025 AI for Humanity Report
Voices is a new mini-series from Humanitarian AI Today. In daily five-minute flashpods we pass the mic to innovators, researchers and practitioners on the humanitarian front lines, delivering real-time news on how they are building, testing and collaborating on uses of artificial intelligence.
In this flashpod, Shannon Farley, Co-founder and Executive Director of Fast Forward joins Eric Talbert, Co-founder of MedCycle Network to discuss Fast Forward’s 2025 AI for Humanity Report, which is a roadmap for harnessing AI for impact written by Fast Forward with support from Google.
For over a decade, Fast Forward has supported social good initiatives, evolving with technology to become an important and direct accelerator of AI adoption in the social sector. Drawing upon its experience, the 2025 AI for Humanity report shows how nonprofits are using AI to transform lives and offers a roadmap for how to build on these successes responsibly. However, while AI has been able to create incredible efficiencies and opportunities, it also comes with new costs. The report reveals that a lack of funding is the most common obstacle for nonprofits, often preventing them from hiring the specialized tech experts they need to move uses of AI forward. Shannon emphasizes that philanthropy can directly address this gap. Even modest budget increases allow nonprofits to dramatically expand their reach, meaning an investment in a nonprofit's AI talent and infrastructure is a direct investment in scaling social impact.
Substack Notes: https://open.substack.com/pub/humanitarianaitoday/p/shannon-farley-on-fast-forwards-2025?r=e9cbk&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
Humanitarian AI Today
Voices is a new mini-series from Humanitarian AI Today. In daily five-minute flashpods we pass the mic to humanitarian experts and technology pioneers, to hear about new projects, events, and perspectives on topics of importance to the humanitarian community.
In this flashpod, Jessie Pechmann, Humanitarian GIS and Data Protection Lead with Humanitarian OpenStreetMap, speaks with Humanitarian AI Today producer Brent Phillips about satellite imaging, GIS, and the uses of AI in assessing building damage. They touch on how different AI models and methods can produce wildly different results for the same area, highlighting the need for transparency and better validation practices, including humans in the loop providing local knowledge and oversight. They also discuss the importance of "data commons," the open, shared data resources that humanitarian organizations rely on, and the challenges of supporting them amid a shift away from traditional government funding, which risks data becoming "siloed" as funding moves toward philanthropic or paid-for services.
Substack notes: https://humanitarianaitoday.substack.com/p/jessie-pechmann-from-humanitarian
