---
tags: cloud
date: "2023-10-02"
category: "til"
---

# A few random opportunities in AI for Social Good

Recently a few friends have reached out asking if I knew of any opportunities to work on AI-related things that also have some kind of pro-social tie-in.
I think a lof people see AI as a technology with a lot of potential, but in an environment of companies that don't seem to prioritize the benefit of human-kind over the never-ending hype machine and the promise of hyperscale growth.

So I asked around a few places to see if folks had recommendations for using skills in machine learning or artificial intelligence, but in a context that was explicitly for the benefit of humanity or otherwise pro-social.
Here are a few that stood out (they are 100% not vetted, I'm just passing along information in case it's useful so please tell me if there's something wrong or problematic in here):

1. **[DataScience for Social Good (DSSG)](https://datascienceforsocialgood.org)**:
   - DSSG leverages data science to tackle social challenges and will likely intersect with the AI/ML space as well.

2. **[Dataseer](https://dataseer.ai)**:
   - Uses AI but in the context of research paper analytics for scholarly knowledge generation.
   
3. **[Ersilia](https://ersilia.io)**:
   - Provides data science tools for infections and neglected disease research, largely for universities, hospitals, and laboratories in low-resourced countries.
   
4. **[Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI)](https://boards.greenhouse.io/chanzuckerberginitiative/jobs/4970748?gh_jid=4970748)**:
   - CZI has an open position for Director of Artificial Intelligence across CZI's programs.
   
5. **[DAIR Institute](https://dair-institute.org)**:
   - DAIR is a space for independent, community-rooted AI research, free from Big Tech’s pervasive influence.
   
6. **[Open@RIT](https://www.rit.edu/research/open)**:
   - Does a lot of work at the intersection of open science, data science, and open source technology, and is involved in some projects with ML/AI.
   
7. **Policy and Ethics in AI**:
   - There are many policy and advocacy efforts around AI.
     In particular, the [Electronic Frontier Foundation](https://eff.org/issues/ai) was mentioned along with a community called ["AI Snake Oil"](https://aisnakeoil.com) and the **[US Digital Response](https://usdigitalresponse.org)**.

8. **[A recent AI for Good Panel Discussion](https://youtube.com/live/8-wzjpZA2sc?si=3j6sJCM5r7j2zmKt)**:
   - The panel, hosted by [Deeplearning.AI](https://deeplearning.ai), explored real-world problem-solving using AI.
   
9. **[Stanford Human-Centered AI group (HAI)](https://hai.stanford.edu)**:
   - HAI at Stanford focuses on human-centric AI research, with research opportunities.
    
10. **Open Science Initiatives in AI**:
    - There are some community initiatives in AI, such as [Cohere for AI](https://cohere.for.ai/), and the [Responsible AI License (RAIL) initiative](https://licenses.ai/blog/2023/1/17/rail-initiative-call-for-participation).
    
11. **Data research, advocacy, and technology institutes**:
    - A few more institutes were mentioned: the [AI Now Institute](https://ainowinstitute.org/), the [Ada Lovelace Institute](https://www.adalovelaceinstitute.org/), and [Connected by Data](https://connectedbydata.org/).

This is not even close to an exhaustive list, but it's what came out of this relatively simple question.
Maybe somebody will find these useful to follow up on!
I was encouraged by how many people responded to my questions - it seems like the intersection of AI and social good is on many people's minds.