Aleph Notes #8: AI and Evaluation
During our summer team retreat in Brighton, one of the conversations we exchanged thoughts on was regarding the potentiality of Artificial Intelligence (AI) replacing us in our roles of impact evaluators. The question is perhaps mis-phrased or uninformed.
Sure, the rise of AI has sparked concerns about automation and its potential to take control over processes and systems that are otherwise human-led. But a more constructure way of looking at this is seeing AI as an ally. We asked ChatGPT for its thoughts.
“Impact evaluators wonder if their jobs are at risk. The answer is nuanced.
AI can certainly assist impact evaluators by automating data analysis, speeding up processes, and providing insights from large datasets. This technological tool can enhance efficiency, allowing evaluators to focus on interpretation and strategy.
However, the essence of impact evaluation goes beyond data crunching. Human judgement, context understanding, and ethical considerations are crucial aspects that AI may struggle to replicate fully. Impact evaluators bring empathy, critical thinking, and adaptability to the table, qualities that are challenging for AI to imitate.
Your job as an impact evaluator is safe, but AI can certainly make it more effective”.
There is no doubt about the power of AI, even in the field of impact evaluation. The question then we must ask is not if AI would overtake some of our day-to-day roles. It is about the ways in which AI can be leveraged and integrated into our approaches in an ethical manner. This is a fast-moving topic that requires much discussion. We must then ponder over some of the following questions.
“Are our AI tools fairness-aware and bias-free?”
“Can we still prioritise transparency and accountability
when merging AI models with our conventional evaluation
methods?”
“In our AI-driven evaluations, are we still being cognisant of
participants’ rights and data protection regulations?”
If you are working in this space, we would like to hear from you. Please do get in touch.
