I asked AI to write me a grant application today.

Curious to know what happened? 💻

We have all heard a lot about ChatGPT and other forms of AI/digital tools in the past months. I have read some insightful articles covering the range of debates when it comes to grant-making, AI, and social change.

Some of the articles have focused on how these digital tools ❌ are contributing to the shrinking space for civil society, ❌ are another example of growing tech and data control, and ❌ are making it harder to know the real humans behind grant applications and social change work.

Others have emphasized how these tools ✅ can be used to strengthen the work of social movements to enact change, ✅ can move us forward on decolonizing the sector (in terms of power that comes from language and digital access), and ✅ are contributing to more participatory cultures.

I decided to try a little test: I asked AI to prepare a grant application for my foundation about the human rights situation in Asia.

What happened?

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫, 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧-𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭.

What do we do with this?

I am not sure yet. And I know that I am not the first person to try this experiment (or similar experiments) — this is an issue that many fields are looking at / have looked at for years. Technology is part of our lived realities in many places in the world.

But the experiment has set in motion a number of thoughts in my head.

▶ Do these tools make trust-based grantmaking easier … or harder?
▶ Do these tools help us decolonize and shift power, or do they ultimately result in new consolidations of power?
▶ Do these tools help movements, or do they contribute to the widening digital divide between the global North and South?
▶ Are we taking a critical enough look at how algorithms and control of data affect our lives, about who owns and controls AI, and whether the tools emerging are supporting digital ecosystems for the common good?
▶ Are we ahead of the curve in trying to understand the challenges and opportunities these new technologies may pose, or are we behind?

What are your thoughts? How can social movements, funders, and civil society alike (both in the global South and global North) continue to critically explore the implications of these tools that change the way we work, communicate, and trust each other?

Do you know of any other good resources or tools to explore these issues?

#ai #shiftthepower #grantmaking
Photo: Markus Spiske on Unsplash