Charity AI Taskforce launched

Following our recent webinar ‘Charities and AI: opportunities and threats’ in February, the Charity AI Taskforce has been launched.

The aim of the taskforce, as described by Zoe Amar (the founder of Zoe Amar Digital, which has helped bring together organisations to launch the taskforce) in her recent article for Third Sector (‘Without a strategic approach to AI, we are all exposed to risk’), “is to develop a collaborative, responsible, inclusive approach to AI adoption which helps charities use these technologies to increase their impact”.

At the launch of the taskforce, David Knott, CEO of The National Lottery Fund, said that AI is “the defining strategic question of our time”. It is clear that AI presents huge challenges and opportunities in equal measure, however, without a proper strategy in place for the third sector, charities will be exposed to risk. 

Charity trustees need to consider AI from a strategic perspective and identify the skills that their organisation requires to maximise the potential of AI whilst managing the risks. The taskforce is responding to the Government’s AI Action Plan. It is clear that charities will need to ensure they uphold high ethical standards and best practice in this area, including in areas such as intellectual property and employment-related issues.

Charity Digital has recently consulted on the Charity Digital Code of Practice. The Code’s principles and best practice guidance have been designed to apply to charities of all sizes and are intended to give an overview of the key digital areas that charities need to be aware of. The review of the Code is against the backdrop of a rapidly changing digital landscape – since the first iteration of the Code, there has been growth in remote working, the emergence of digital service delivery, cloud computing, social media and the need to tackle disinformation and, of course, the rapid development and impact of AI as discussed above. The updated code will endeavour to provide a framework for organisation to manage these developments and be relevant to charities in 2025 and beyond.