040. Can NGOs Stay Human-Centered while Embracing Smart Tech? Beth Kanter and Allison Fine

Summary

The new generation of 'smart technology' -  chatbots, AI, machine learning, natural language processing, robots etc.  can bring major benefits to nonprofits - if they can discern what they need to do to remain human-centered in their choice of technology. And if they remain aware of the potential for bias in AI-generated data, given its profound potential negative impact?

What can nonprofits – who are frequently not digital natives, let alone coders themselves – do to protect themselves against these?

In this episode, we discuss the timely new book by Beth Kanter and Allison Fine: 'The Smart Nonprofit: Staying Human-Centered in an Automated World'.

Beth’s Bio:

• Nonprofit and foundation-focused trainer and independent consultant
• Virtual facilitator
• A nonprofit innovator in digital transformation and workplace well being
• Author
• Adjunct Professor at the Monterrey Institute of International Studies

Allison’s Bio:

• Principal consultant at Allison Fine Consulting
• Founder/CEO of Network of Elected Women
• Senior fellow at Demos, at the Wagner School at New York University
• Founder and Executive Director at Innovation Network
• Author of multiple books on (digital) networking, social media and the nonprofit sector

We discuss: 

• Tech is more available and more cheaply available than ever; that actually increases its dangers
• Smart tech can eliminate ‘grunt work’ done by many nonprofit frontlines, operations, and fundraising staff, and create a ‘dividend’ of time, which can be more strategically spent on frontline interaction with clients, evaluation and learning, horizon scanning etc.
• Smart tech can reduce the need for ‘astroturf campaigning’, in which nonprofits transactionally engage with their ‘members’ on a superficial basis; instead, it allows them to engage more deeply in getting to know new donors
• Smart tech is used in the form of bots, for instance, to engage with people in the public who need services– but we have to do so very carefully 
• How leaders need to be ‘digitally literate’ and not leave these decisions with regard to adoption of new 'smart technologies' up to the Chief Technology Officer
• How nonprofits need to remain overall reflective in adopting smart tech

Quotes

“This book is not technical to me”

“Leading through resistance in organizations is among others about doing away with outmoded ideas that only people can do nonprofit tasks”

Resources:

Beth’s LinkedIn

Beth’s website

Allison’s LinkedIn

Allison’s website

Harvard Business Review article: How Smart Tech is Transforming Nonprofits

Amazon link to book - The smart nonprofit: staying human-centered in an automated world: here

Online course on Virtual Team Leadership skills

Youtube video of this podcast

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