Artificial Intelligence Meets Human Connection
AI is changing the way information is shared, accessed and trusted across communities.
Community Lab is experimenting with positive applications of AI to support deeper human-to-human connections and improve accessibility to siloed resources.
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AI for Good
AI will change the way we connect. Let's do it well.
Our AI work revolves around three core disciplines:
1.
Ethical Debate & Community Research
AI is a rabbit hole filled with distractions, exciting possibilities, and a million different ways of getting lost.
It's important to ask difficult questions about why AI is worth exploring, how our approach will align with our core design philosophy, and what we can do to mitigate AI armageddon.
2.
AI Product Development
Building stuff with AI is the only way to truly understand how it works.
We're dedicating a chunk of our design and development resource on experimental AI projects and contained projects that interface with our platform.
3.
Regulation & AI Policy Reform
Grappling with emerging AI technologies equips us with the vocabulary, know-how and confidence to contribute to emerging conversations around AI regulation and policy advocacy.
Critically, we want to be a voice for underrepresented communities in AI implementation.
Dipping Our Toes
In September 2023, we launched our first experimental AI product on Community Lab — AskAngus (beta).
This short video gives an overview of how it works: instead of querying random information on the web, it scans public content posted by our members to make relevant information more accessible and discoverable.
Critically, AskAngus always quotes the source of any output it generates.
Active AI Projects
Some of the AI projects we're working on.
As of January 2023, we've been actively exploring the opportunity to integrate generative AI into the community and ecosystem-building landscape.
Connecting Business Support & Funding Agencies
There's so much help out there but finding it is easier said than done.
We've been working directly with business support professionals to translate their understanding of the landscape into scalable AI-powered pathways that point people in the right direction.
Third Sector AI Research Symposium
Many of the organisations we work with are charities or voluntary community groups.
After speaking with these organisations, it was clear that the Third Sector is at risk of AI exclusion or getting 'left behind'.
We launched a month-long research project to turn this challenge into an open conversation.
Navigating Complex Ecosystems
Community Lab's platform is home to thousands of users, hundreds of groups, and a vast library of resources.
While most platforms rely on attention-based algorithms to feed users with content they think they'll love ( reinforcing echo chambers), we're exploring AI as tool to diversify content discovery and break-down silos.
Enriching Online Learning Experiences
A growing number of our member organisations use Community Lab as a digital space to host interactive learning content.
AI is proving a useful aid for enriching learning experiences by identifying links between curated learning content and user-generated platform content — accelerating and deepening learning journeys.
Decarbonising The Web
AI demands a huge amount of compute power which, in many cases, means burning fossil fuels to generate electricity.
As we embark on our AI experiments, we're constantly working to improve the efficiency of our tech stack and source clean energy solutions.
Check whether your business is a Verified Green Hosting Provider here.
AskAngus: Our First AI Product
In September 2023, we launched our first experimental AI product on Community Lab.
Instead of querying random information on the web, AskAngus scans public content posted by our members to make relevant information more accessible and discoverable.
Critically, it always quotes the source of any output it generates.
AI Manifesto
Our guiding principles for responsible AI innovation.
AI should be designed with people in mind, focusing on solving real problems that individuals and communities actually care about.
We shouldn’t innovate just because we can, but because we’ve heard clear signals that our creations will contribute to a better, more desirable future.
By staying connected to the needs, desires, and values of society, we ensure AI drives solutions people truly want or need.
Cutting corners for the sake of speed can result in incomplete or flawed innovations.
Thoughtful, incremental progress is essential to ensure that AI systems are reliable, safe, and ethically sound for the long-term.
Creativity sits at the heart of human progress, culture, and identity. AI should act as a partner to amplify human imagination, not replace it.
When designed responsibly, AI enhances our ability to express ourselves and innovate.
Protecting human creativity ensures that we continue to foster the richness and diversity that makes our world unique.
Trust in AI is built on transparency. When systems operate as opaque ‘black boxes’ (processing data in ways we don’t understand), we lose the ability to trust their outputs.
It’s crucial to maintain clear visibility into how AI makes decisions so we can ensure its fairness, accuracy, and ethical alignment.
With AI evolving at such a fast rate, it's easy for organisations to hide in the shadows or exploit the chaos to make questionable choices.
Not us. We encourage you to download our manifesto as a static record and hold us accountable if we drift from our guiding principles.