ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ( AI ), COMPUTER SYSTEMS THAT PERFORM TASKS TYPICALLY REQUIRING HUMAN INTELLIGENCE , IS EMERGING AS A GAME-CHANGING TOOL FOR NON- PROFIT ORGANISATIONS ( NPOS ). AI ' S ABILITY TO PROCESS VAST AMOUNTS OF DATA QUICKLY AND ACCURATELY ENABLES NPOS TO MAKE MORE INFORMED DECISIONS , OPTIMISE HOW THEY ALLOCATE SCARCE RESOURCES , AND PERSONALISE INTERACTIONS WITH DONORS , VOLUNTEERS AND BENFICIARIES . “ AI TECHNOLOGIES HOLD ENORMOUS POTENTIAL FOR NPOS TO ENHANCE THEIR OPERATIONS , IMPROVE OUTREACH , AND OPTIMISE IMPACT ,” SAYS JACQUES SWART , OPERATIONS COORDINATOR AT INYATHELO , A NONPROFIT TRUST FOUNDED IN 2002 TO HELP OTHER NPOS BECOME MORE SUSTAINABLE . SWART , WHO HAS TWO DECADES OF EXPERIENCE IN THE CIVIL SOCIETY SECTOR , PLUS EXTENSIVE TRAINING IN PROMPT ENGINEERING AND RELATED TOPICS , RECENTLY LED AN AI TRAINING WEBINAR TO EDUCATE THE SECTOR ON PROMPT ENGINEERING . THIS IS THE PROCESS OF DESIGNING AND REFINING INSTRUCTIONS TO GET THE BEST POSSIBLE RESPONSES . SWART LISTED THE FOLLOWING EXAMPLES OF HOW AI CAN BENEFIT NPOS : UNLOCK HIDDEN INSIGHTS : ANALYSE VAST DATA SETS TO UNDERSTAND YOUR SUPPORTERS BETTER , PREDICT NEEDS , AND PERSONALISE OUTREACH . BOOST FUNDRAISING EFFICIENCY : IDENTIFY POTENTIAL DONORS , TAILOR MESSAGES , AND AUTOMATE TASKS , FREEING UP RESOURCES . OPTIMISE OPERATIONS : AUTOMATE ADMIN TASKS , STREAMLINE DATA MANAGEMENT , AND OBTAIN REAL-TIME PROGRAMME INSIGHTS , FOR DATA-DRIVEN DECISIONS . PROVIDE 24 / 7 SUPPORT : CHATBOTS POWERED BY AI CAN ANSWER QUESTIONS , OFFER RESOURCES , AND SCHEDULE APPOINTMENTS . “ AS YOU BEGIN IMPLEMENTING AI PROCESSES INTO YOUR WORK , YOU IMMEDIATELY UNLOCK INSIGHTS , AND REALISE THERE IS SO MUCH MORE YOU CAN DO WITH LARGE LANGUAGE MODELS – SUPER-SMART COMPUTER PROGRAMMES – IN YOUR ORGANISATION ,” SAYS SWART . INYATHELO DOES NOT ADVOCATE A GENERIC APPROACH TO FUNDRAISING , BUT ENCOURAGES NPOS TO VIEW AI AS A TOOL . “ AI IS LIKE HAVING THE WORLD ’ S SMARTEST INTERN , BUT YOU NEED TO KNOW HOW TO INTERACT WITH THEM . PROMPT ENGINEERING IS LIKE GIVING YOUR COMPUTER CLEAR INSTRUCTIONS SO IT CAN BETTER UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU WANT . THE BETTER THE INPUT , THE BETTER THE RESULT . “ PRACTISE AS MUCH AS YOU CAN TO GET THE BEST ANSWERS AND GET AI TO WORK THE WAY YOU WANT TO .” ACCORDING TO THE AFRICAN CENTER FOR ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION ’ S PUBLICATION ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE FOR ECONOMIC POLICYMAKING : THE FRONTIER OF AFRICA ’ S ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION , RESEARCH SHOWS THAT AI CONTRIBUTES TO MEETING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS , TARGETING HUMANITARIAN RELIEF , AND ADDRESSING IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ,
THE PUBLICATION CITES THE CENTRE FOR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY LAW AT THE STRATHMORE LAW SCHOOL IN KENYA , WHICH FOUND 213 APPLICATIONS OF AI DEVELOPED IN , OR FOR USE IN , AFRICA ACROSS 33 SECTORS IN 2021 .