Programming a Better Future: How to Leverage AI for Social Good
In the global consciousness, Artificial Intelligence exists as a paradox.
On one hand, it is the engine of unprecedented economic growth, a tool optimizing global commerce with ruthless efficiency. On the other, it is a source of deep societal anxiety, a disruptive force raising profound questions about our jobs, our privacy, and our future.
This conversation, oscillating between market value and existential risk, often overlooks the most important test of any revolutionary technology: its capacity for moral good.
Beyond optimizing supply chains and personalizing advertisements lies a far greater, more urgent challenge—tackling humanity’s most persistent and complex problems.
Can an algorithm help predict a famine? Can a neural network accelerate the discovery of life-saving drugs? Can machine learning models help us fight climate change and protect our most vulnerable ecosystems?
The promise is immense, but the path from algorithm to altruism is not straightforward. Even more so, the will to find direction and cause.
How, then, do we bridge this chasm? How do we intentionally and effectively steer this immense power towards our highest ideals and move beyond theoretical potential and toward tangible impact.
We turned to the architects of this revolution—the tech visionaries, business leaders, and policy experts who are in a unique position to direct its course. We asked them one critical question:
“In your opinion, what’s one way to accelerate the use of AI for social good, ensuring it addresses pressing societal needs? Share your insights on strategies, partnerships, or technologies that can drive AI’s impact for a better future.”
Their responses form a powerful and diverse blueprint for action. Here is what they shared about forging a more equitable and intelligent world.
Read on!
Supratim Sircar - Cisco
The most successful way forward to maximise the social impact of AI would be to build true partnerships between technology developers and existing social organisations. Even today, the prevailing narrative treats our impact partners as passive technology recipients rather than as vital collaborating partners bringing to the table indispensable capabilities.
Social services agencies have decades of both hands-on experience taking problems and creating solutions in challenging environments with few resources. Doing so can dramatically enhance the design, deployment and maintenance of AI systems in the real world. Instead of merely scaling up existing technology or redistributing it more affordably, these partnerships should capitalize on the expertise in designing for and adapting the technology to social organizations that has been hard-won.
To have a competitive impact, positive acceleration must include developing innovation ecosystems that convene an array of actors, from government agencies, firms in the private sector, philanthropy and members of the academic community.
Optimal use of such partnerships is not only identifying and addressing root causes to the barriers to AI adoption but also that the proposed technological solutions are meeting the needs of underserved community.
Sustainable, contextually relevant applications that can be adopted in a wide variety of settings are the focus. This kind of work can also bring general AI systems closer to socially useful applications, which matters if you want the benefits to be useful and accessible to the communities that need it most.
Supratim Sircar
Software Engineer, Cisco
Keith Kakadia - Sociallyin
The fastest way to scale AI for social good is through intentional partnerships that combine Big Tech’s resources with nonprofits’ deep community knowledge. At Sociallyin, we’ve seen how powerful it is when brands collaborate with organizations that truly understand the problems they’re trying to solve.
Imagine if Meta’s AI capabilities were directly integrated with local food banks’ distribution systems, or if Google’s machine learning were deployed through established educational nonprofits to personalize learning for underserved communities. The key is moving beyond CSR photo-ops to genuine operational partnerships where AI development is guided by those who live and breathe these social challenges daily.
The magic happens when Silicon Valley’s innovation meets Main Street’s real-world expertise – that’s where AI stops being a buzzword and starts being a game-changer.
Keith Kakadia
Founder & CEO, Sociallyin
Andrew Chernyshev - Pet911
The fastest way to make AI help society is simple: solve real problems that people face every day.
At Pet911, our AI system (we call it PetBot) shows how this works. When someone loses their pet, they upload a photo to our platform. PetBot instantly analyzes the pet’s unique features—coat patterns, facial structure, even tiny markings—and searches our database of found pets across all country. It can match a lost golden retriever in LA with one found 50 miles away in just seconds.
But here’s the key: we made it work like texting a friend, not operating a computer. Upload photo, get matches, reunite families. No technical skills needed.
The magic happens when you combine smart technology with people who care. Our AI connects with local shelters and volunteers who do the real work—the actual rescuing and caring. Technology amplifies human kindness; it doesn’t replace it.
Alejandro Meyerhans - Get Me Links
I believe one powerful way to accelerate AI for social good is through strategic partnerships between tech companies and nonprofits. By leveraging AI tools, organizations can analyze data to address pressing societal issues like poverty and education.
For instance, AI-driven analytics can improve resource allocation, potentially increasing efficiency by 30%. Collaborating with experts in various fields ensures that AI solutions are tailored to real-world challenges, maximizing their impact.
This approach not only drives innovation but also fosters a culture of responsibility in technology.
Dr. Chad Walding - NativePath
One way A.I. can do more good is through personalized health education that can be easily understood.
Most individuals still have trouble finding trustworthy resources for nutrition, movement, or aging healthfully. A.I. Chat tools can reduce effort to translate that information for different reading levels, cultures, or learning styles.
We’ve used A.I. to develop guides that generate information on collagen and healthy movements that reflect a person’s goals and habits. What proved important was to keep content conversational and simple, and not flood users with professional lexical terms they do not understand.
I think there is a path forward where wellness professionals work with A.I. designers to bridge this trust gap. Real content, supported by real practice in real life informs A.I. and provides a solid foundation for A.I. to teach from.
Dr. Chad Walding
Co-Founder & Chief Culture Officer, NativePath
Joanna Gołacka - KlikLekarz
One powerful way to accelerate AI for social good is by integrating it into early detection tools for mental health. AI can already analyze speech patterns, facial expressions, and digital behavior to flag signs of anxiety, depression, or burnout before they escalate. Embedding these tools into platforms people already use – like workplace wellness apps, telehealth services, or even voice assistants – makes support more accessible and stigma-free.
The key is ethical design – partnering with mental health professionals to ensure accuracy, privacy, and consent. AI shouldn’t replace human care, but it can act as a first alert system and bridge for underserved communities. Scaled responsibly, it could help millions receive help earlier, when interventions are most effective.
Joanna Gołacka
Content Creator & Wellbeing Expert, kliklekarz.pl
Alec Pow - ThePricer
An impactful strategy to propel AI’s impact for a brighter future is fostering widespread digital literacy.
While the term ‘AI’ is thrown around, many don’t fully grasp what it entails. To tap into AI’s potential for societal betterment, we need to educate the public about its capabilities and applications. This doesn’t mean everyone has to become a technical expert. Instead, it’s about fostering a basic understanding of AI and how it can solve pressing societal issues.
In my experience, partnering with educational institutions can be a fruitful method. By integrating AI understanding into curriculums, we’re not only nurturing future innovators but also empowering people to contribute ideas for AI solutions that cater to societal needs.
Another surprising insight is the potential of open-source AI. Most people think of AI as proprietary technology, but actually, open-source AI platforms allow for collaboration and innovation at a much faster pace. By democratizing access to AI technology, we can accelerate the development of AI solutions that address societal needs.
Let’s not forget – technology is only as good as the hands it’s in. Therefore, an actionable tip is to place emphasis on ethical AI use. Understanding and implementing ethical guidelines can help ensure AI is used for the greater good, rather than causing harm.
Accelerating the use of AI for social good requires a combined effort of educating the public, fostering partnerships, promoting open-source AI, and emphasizing ethical use.
Abby Brody - Educator, Speaker, Author, & Founder
AI is poised to transform education from a standardized system into a personal journey, reaching every child—especially those in underserved communities. Intelligent tutors adapt in real time to each learner’s pace, style, and gaps, compressing a day of core academics into two focused hours and delivering the individualized attention only the privileged once enjoyed.
Freed from rote lecturing and paperwork, human teachers become mentors, designers of hands-on challenges, and emotional anchors, cultivating the empathy, creativity, and critical thinking that algorithms can’t teach.
Reduced seat-time expands recess, play, and world exploration, reinforcing cognitive growth and well-being. Low-cost AI devices and multilingual interfaces push high-quality instruction past geographic, economic, and linguistic barriers, giving every child a seat in a classroom without walls.
Rather than replacing adults, AI liberates them to nurture minds and spirits. We stand at the edge of an exciting era—one where equity is truly built into learning.
Abby Brody
Educator, Speaker, Author, & Founder, Abby Brody
Tony Anscombe - ESET
The internet is awesome, but at the same time it is fundamentally broken. The lack of authentication of a source–whether a person or an entity–enables fake news, scams, cybercrime, and more.
Fake news has a significant negative impact on society and due to the complexity of how the information is disseminated, it’s complicated to trace the source.
AI could be used to track the path that fake news follows, its creation fingerprint, and potentially track it back to a source.
All news content should be attributed to a source, and if possible, to a person. If someone posts something, then they should be held responsible for what they post and be held accountable if the content is fake and/or misleading. There is even the possibility to create a non-trusted source rating system.
Even when the content creator switches accounts to post there are still indicators of source and if the source cannot be identified then the content should automatically be tagged with ‘untrusted or unverified source’.
At present, individual social media companies attempt, rather unsuccessfully, to detect fake news on their own platforms. The suggestion is that AI could create a heterogeneous verification process, independent of platform, adopting a zero-trust, verify everything approach to all internet content.
Tony Anscombe
Chief Security Evangelist, ESET
Robert J. Ricci - FINN Partners
One way to accelerate AI for social good is to foster an environment where governments, industry, academia, civil society, and impacted communities can work together to drive the development of ethical AI systems that address critical societal challenges with fairness, transparency, and accountability.
By pooling expertise and resources, sharing best practices, and engaging in joint initiatives that promote innovation, cost reduction, and broad and equitable access to advanced technologies, this collective can advance scalable, inclusive solutions that deliver impact that’s aligned with the needs of the communities they serve.
Robert J. Ricci
Partner, Digital Marketing, FINN Partners
On behalf of the Techronicler community of readers, we thank these leaders and experts for taking the time to share valuable insights that stem from years of experience and in-depth expertise in their respective niches.
If you wish to showcase your experience and expertise, participate in industry-leading discussions, and add visibility and impact to your personal brand and business, get in touch with the Techronicler team to feature in our fast-growing publication.
You may also like
