BEIJING: While acknowledging the important role artificial intelligence can play in improving early-warning systems, emergency response and healthcare during crises, senior humanitarian experts and officials advocated for a human-centered approach in adopting AI to better meet the fundamental principles of impartiality and empathy, among others, that are central to their work.
Such an approach demands vigilance against algorithmic bias, expanded access to technology in the developing world and stronger safeguards to protect personal privacy, they said.
“AI must never become a cold substitute for human compassion. It should enhance, not replace, our ability to understand the unique stories, aspirations, fears and strengths of the people we serve,” said Kate Forbes, president of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
“We must resist the temptation to outsource judgment to algorithms. Humanitarians, not machines, must remain the final arbiters of need, priority and assistance,” she added. “This requires investing in in-house expertise, ethical review and decision-making safeguards that reinforce and not replace our independence.” Forbes and other experts voiced their observations during the 4th Soochow International Humanitarian Forum that was jointly hosted by the Red Cross Society of China and Soochow University in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, from Friday to Saturday.
Experts said that artificial intelligence, when used smartly and ethically, can serve the humanitarian cause of preventing and alleviating human suffering and protecting life and health.
Forbes cited the example of an AI-enabled early warning system that the IFRC plays an important role in, and which is capable of delivering advanced alerts for tropical cyclones and flash floods in India, Fiji, Kenya and other pilot countries. In Ethiopia’s Dire Dawa, flood risk mapping has helped to identify vulnerable areas since 2023.
“Predictive models are now helping us foresee displacement patterns and disease outbreaks, enabling early interventions and potentially saving lives,” she said.
According to the Red Cross Society of China, AI-powered analysis and machine learning have led to an exponential increase in the efficiency of humanitarian rescue operations following natural disasters.
“AI has been deployed to assess needs in disaster-affected regions, evaluate transportation conditions, and monitor supply inventory levels, enabling optimized resource allocation and the rapid delivery of supplies to those in most urgent need,” it said. –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
