Gender and Responsible AI Network (GRAIN) scaling hub

 

Responsible artificial intelligence (AI) innovations have the potential to address critical development challenges in Africa and help countries and communities advance toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. However, a key insight emerging from the AI ecosystem is that there is a need to go beyond ideas and prototypes to scale innovations that solve real-world problems. This transformative impact, however, is only possible if AI tools are designed and deployed in ways that prevent the perpetuation of bias and promote inclusive benefits of AI for women and other excluded and underrepresented groups.

This project will develop guidelines and tools to help AI ecosystem actors address structural barriers and conceptualize, develop and use AI tools that promote inclusion and address pressing social and economic challenges. The research team will support promising innovations that are developed with the intention of supporting inclusive development outcomes and will evaluate those tools to understand clearly what it takes to scale inclusive AI solutions. It will also engage AI ecosystem actors across the African continent in ensuring that responsible AI is built with gender, diversity and inclusion considerations at the centre by sharing knowledge, building a network and community of practice and helping to get scalable solutions into real-world use.  

This project is a part of the Artificial Development for Development program, a five-year partnership between IDRC and the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to support policy, innovations and expanded leadership to spur safe and responsible AI development and use in Africa. The vision of the new partnership is to support an inclusive, responsible AI ecosystem that improves quality of life for all in Africa and beyond.