Google.org is launching a $20 million generative AI acceleration program

Google.org, the nonprofit wing of Google, is launching a brand new program to assist nonprofits develop technologies that use generative AI.

The program, called Google.org Accelerator: Generative AI, will probably be funded by $20 million in grants and includes 21 nonprofit organizations, including Quill.org, an organization that gives AI-powered tools for writing feedback from students, and the World Bank developed a generative AI app to make development research more accessible.

In addition to funding, nonprofits receive access to technical training, workshops, mentors and guidance from an “AI coach” within the six-week accelerator program. And through the Google.org grant program, teams of Google employees will work full-time with three of the nonprofits — Tarjimly, Benefits Data Trust and mRelief — for as much as six months to assist launch their proposed generative AI tools.

Tarjimly wants to make use of AI to translate languages ​​for refugees, while Benefits Data Trust is using AI to develop assistants to assist caseworkers help low-income applicants enroll for public advantages. Meanwhile, mRelief is developing a tool to streamline the applying process for SNAP advantages within the US.

“Generative AI may also help social impact teams be more productive, creative and effective in serving their communities,” Annie Lewin, director of world advocacy at Google.org, said in a press release blog entry. “Google.org grant recipients report that AI helps them achieve their goals in a 3rd of the time and at almost half the fee.”

According to a PwrdBy Opinion poll73% of nonprofits consider AI innovations align with their missions, and 75% consider AI makes their lives easier, particularly in areas comparable to donor categorization, routine back-office tasks, and “mission-focused” initiatives. However, significant barriers remain for nonprofits trying to develop their very own AI solutions or adopt third-party products—most notably cost, resources, and time.

In the blog post, Lewin quotes a Google.org Opinion poll It also found that while 4 out of 5 nonprofits consider generative AI could possibly be applicable to their work, nearly half are usually not currently using the technology as a result of plenty of internal and external barriers. “(These nonprofits) cite a scarcity of tools, awareness, training and funding as the most important barriers to adoption,” she said.

Fortunately, the variety of non-profit AI-focused startups is starting to extend.

Non-profit accelerator Fast Forward said greater than a 3rd of applicants to its latest course this 12 months were AI corporations. And Crunchbase Reports that more broadly, dozens of nonprofits all over the world are engaged in work on ethical approaches to AI, comparable to the AI ​​ethics lab AlgorithmWatch, the virtual reading clinic JoyEducation, and the conservation group Earth05.