Artificial intelligence and emerging technologies
We work to understand what responsible AI looks like in practice by drawing on evidence, building communities of practice, and supporting grantees to tackle real challenges.
Why AI?
The scale and complexity of humanitarian crises are growing while funding and resources continue to decline. Humanitarian responders face enormous pressure, navigating data overload, making rapid decisions, and managing risk in uncertain, high-stakes environments.
Artificial Intelligence has the potential to transform how we respond. It can improve the speed, accuracy and efficiency of humanitarian action. But its use also raises serious concerns, including bias, lack of transparency, data privacy, and the risk of unintended harm, especially in fragile, high-risk contexts.
Despite its promise, the humanitarian sector often lacks the capacity, knowledge and safeguards to adopt AI responsibly. Decision-makers face a fast-evolving landscape with limited support to navigate it.
In 2023, we launched our first AI for Humanitarians challenge to explore this new frontier: testing ideas, surfacing risks, and learning from real-world projects. We are not focused on rapid deployment or scale for its own sake. Instead, we prioritise responsible, inclusive and ethical innovation grounded in humanitarian principles.
We work to understand what responsible AI looks like in practice by drawing on evidence, building communities of practice, and supporting grantees to tackle real challenges. Our goal is to ensure AI serves those most affected by crisis, not just those with the tools to build it.
What we do
1.
We identify key challenges in applying AI to humanitarian response and explore where responsible innovation can make a meaningful difference.
2.
We take a flexible, ethical and collaborative approach as a donor. We support grantees to test ideas, learn from setbacks, and adapt their work to achieve the most impact.
3.
We work with grantees, experts and the wider sector to create and share practical tools, resources and insights for responsible AI development.
4.
We collaborate to shape better governance, foster peer learning and help ensure AI is used in ways that strengthen, not compromise, humanitarian action.
What we fund in AI
Explore the groundbreaking projects that Elrha supports across the globe. From health innovations to disaster risk reduction, our funding drives impactful solutions in humanitarian contexts.
