TY - JOUR
T1 - The Opportunities, Limitations, and Challenges in Using Machine Learning Technologies for Humanitarian Work and Development
AU - Sekara, Vedran
AU - Karsai, Márton
AU - Moro, Esteban
AU - Kim, Dohyung
AU - Delamonica, Enrique
AU - Cebrian, Manuel
AU - Luengo-Oroz, Miguel
AU - Jiménez, Rebeca Moreno
AU - Garcia-Herranz, Manuel
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 The Author(s).
PY - 2024/5/3
Y1 - 2024/5/3
N2 - Novel digital data sources and tools like machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) have the potential to revolutionize data about development and can contribute to monitoring and mitigating humanitarian problems. The potential of applying novel technologies to solving some of humanity's most pressing issues has garnered interest outside the traditional disciplines studying and working on international development. Today, scientific communities in fields like Computational Social Science, Network Science, Complex Systems, Human Computer Interaction, Machine Learning, and the broader AI field are increasingly starting to pay attention to these pressing issues. However, are sophisticated data driven tools ready to be used for solving real-world problems with imperfect data and of staggering complexity? We outline the current state-of-the-art and identify barriers, which need to be surmounted in order for data-driven technologies to become useful in humanitarian and development contexts. We argue that, without organized and purposeful efforts, these new technologies risk at best falling short of promised goals, at worst they can increase inequality, amplify discrimination, and infringe upon human rights.
AB - Novel digital data sources and tools like machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) have the potential to revolutionize data about development and can contribute to monitoring and mitigating humanitarian problems. The potential of applying novel technologies to solving some of humanity's most pressing issues has garnered interest outside the traditional disciplines studying and working on international development. Today, scientific communities in fields like Computational Social Science, Network Science, Complex Systems, Human Computer Interaction, Machine Learning, and the broader AI field are increasingly starting to pay attention to these pressing issues. However, are sophisticated data driven tools ready to be used for solving real-world problems with imperfect data and of staggering complexity? We outline the current state-of-the-art and identify barriers, which need to be surmounted in order for data-driven technologies to become useful in humanitarian and development contexts. We argue that, without organized and purposeful efforts, these new technologies risk at best falling short of promised goals, at worst they can increase inequality, amplify discrimination, and infringe upon human rights.
KW - Humanitarian work
KW - artificial intelligence
KW - complex systems
KW - development
KW - machine learning
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85193075304&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1142/s0219525924400022
DO - 10.1142/s0219525924400022
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85193075304
SN - 0219-5259
VL - 27
JO - Advances in Complex Systems
JF - Advances in Complex Systems
IS - 3
M1 - 2440002
ER -