Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the Context of Nonprofits and Philanthropy: Suspicion and Hope for Researchers and Organizations

Abstract

As the use of artificial intelligence (AI) expands in organizations and academia, it seems important to question its potential contributions and threats in the context of nonprofit and philanthropic studies. The current policies of scientific publishers make the use of AI just another ethical issue to be monitored. Therefore, its only interest is as a tool to save time on certain tasks. The same reasoning applies to organizations. In both cases, the use of AI in its free or mainstream market versions raises questions about the ability of these tools to take into account the specificities of nonprofit and philanthropy. There are also other suspicions, such as the proper use of the data provided to the AI, or the risk of standardized answers to management questions. In fact, the use of AI can save time on routine or complex tasks, allowing researchers to focus on their impact on society and organizations to focus on their impact on beneficiaries and the community. We can even hope that this time savings will encourage collaboration between researchers and organizations, in order for the former to supplant the generalist discussions proposed by AI, and for the latter to co-construct truly adapted practices.