The public want to see action taken to ensure all charities, including small organisations and those in low-income countries, are not being locked out of opportunities around artificial intelligence (AI), a survey has found.

Seven in ten people say effort needs to be made to make sure AI is accessible to all charities, irrespective of their size and location.

Benefits for charities of AI highlighted by respondents include improving communication with supporters and donors, slashing administration costs and enabling faster responses to disasters.

“AI must not be the privilege of the few,” said Neil Heslop, chief executive of Charities Aid Foundation, which has published the survey.

“We must work together with the technology industry to ensure it is accessible for large and small charities. Digital advances have great potential to support charities to further their missions and accelerate social progress.

“As a starting point, AI could decrease the time spent on administrative tasks, improve operations, and help to target relief more effectively.”

CAF’s survey involved the views of more than 6,000 people globally, including in the UK, USA, Indonesia, India, Brazil and Turkey.

Almost three in ten think speeding up disaster response times is a key benefit for charities of embracing AI.

High end donors are more likely to be in favour of charities using AI, the survey also found.

While only 5% of non-donors and 13% of small donors are in favour of charities using AI, this proportion increases to 30% among high donors.

The research also found that most people are interested in how charities are using AI

“When asked, ‘If a charity you supported was using AI, how much attention would you pay to what they said publicly about how they were using it?’, only 13% said ‘not much’ or ‘none at all’,” found CAF.

Among donors, interest in what charities say about AI increases depending on the amount given.

While just under half of small donors say they pay attention to how charities are using AI, this proportion rises to more than three quarters among high donors.

What are donor opinions about charities using #AI and what does that mean for how charities might implement the technology?

Our new research reveals all ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/xRk38ZkNRg

— Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) (@Caf) January 29, 2024

Globally, respondents from low- and middle-income countries are more enthusiastic about how good causes can use AI compared to those in high income countries.

Among respondents in Kenya, 44% are optimistic about the benefits of AI and in Brazil the proportion is 30%, but in the UK and the USA the proportion is only 5%.

Concerns

Concerns around AI include reducing accessibility, by locking people out of using charity services.

The biggest concern is that charities will use AI to reduce staff numbers, this was cited by almost three in ten people.

“Fundamentally, the public want to know that the charity is not losing sight of its most important part, the connection between the charity and the cause it supports,” said CAF.

“That’s why it’s the positive human benefits – helping more people, disaster relief, making better decisions – that are the easiest for people to grasp and, therefore, the most supported.

“In turn, it seems reaction would be extremely negative if a charity was seen to be using AI to drastically slim down its workforce.”

CAF adds that charities need to ensure “thought needs to be put into communications”, given public scrutiny of how charities use AI and their views on the technology.

It adds: “Tech companies need to consider access to AI, as this is seen as important: ensuring that charities of all sizes and levels of resources can access solutions will be a defining measure of successful implementation across the sector.”

Lack of preparation

According to last year’s Charity Digital Skills report three quarters of charities say they do not feel prepared to respond to opportunities around AI. A lack of time, resource and skills are cited by charities as key barriers to unlocking the potential of AI.

Almost half of respondents said they are worried about the consequences for their organisation of using AI.

Meanwhile, a third of charities say they are monitoring AI’s impact on staff and working practices.

However, evidence from Money4You last year indicated charities could be right to be cautious to the role of AI in their work. It found that AI generated funding searches are “littered with errors”.

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