In a significant step towards addressing global health and development challenges, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has selected around 50 grant recipients to spearhead AI-enabled large language model (LLM) projects.
These initiatives are expected to contribute to shaping equitable access to artificial intelligence (AI) solutions in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), promoting the well-being of communities worldwide.
“Too often, advances in technology deliver uneven benefits in many parts of the world due to existing patterns of discrimination, inequality, and bias,” said Juliana Rotich, co-founder of iHub, an incubator for Nairobi’s young technology entrepreneurs and who has agreed to serve on the foundation’s new AI Ethics and Safety Advisory committee.
“AI is no different, with most of the tools being developed in the Global North using data from lower-resourced regions that is often incomplete or inaccurate. To realize the full potential of AI, it must be developed responsibly and ethically, with the needs of the end user in mind. Solutions can be transformative when they are locally inspired.”
The Grand Challenges program, initiated by the Gates Foundation, received an overwhelming response to its recent call for proposals. The selected projects, driven by a vision of reducing global disparities, are aimed at developing innovative solutions for health and development issues in LMICs.
The program specifically targeted researchers and innovators in these regions, recognizing the crucial role they play in designing, applying, and testing AI-driven LLM technology.
The responsible and safe utilization of AI-driven LLM technology holds immense potential in tackling complex global challenges. To ensure its effectiveness in LMICs, active participation from researchers in those countries is vital. The development and application of this technology require a robust evidence base, bridging gaps in access and knowledge, and enabling equitable problem-solving across LMICs.
Juliana Rotich, co-founder of iHub and a member of the Gates Foundation’s new AI Ethics and Safety Advisory committee, emphasized the importance of developing AI responsibly and ethically. She noted that AI should be designed with the end-users’ needs in mind, leveraging local inspiration to achieve transformative solutions.
The selected projects, aligned with the foundation’s goal of fostering innovation in impactful areas, will each receive up to US$100,000 to advance their research.
These projects, originating from 17 LMICs, will collectively receive US$5 million in grants. The outcomes of these initiatives will be presented at the Grand Challenges Annual Meeting in Dakar, Senegal, in October.
Zameer Brey, interim deputy director for Technology Diffusion at the Gates Foundation, expressed enthusiasm for the AI projects led by local innovators. He highlighted the transformative potential of AI and LLMs in addressing community challenges and creating positive impact.
“The vibrant energy, boundless creativity, and unwavering commitment from innovators to tackle the most vexing challenges has sparked a wave of interest and excitement in the positive impact AI can have in the lives of the vulnerable,” said Zameer Brey. “These local innovators are harnessing the seismic power of AI and LLMs in ways that can be paradigm-shifting for their local communities and beyond. We believe the most impactful technological advancements include those that begin and end with the people they affect most.”
The foundation received more than 1,300 proposals, more than 80% of which were from LMICs, within two weeks of posting its request for proposals. The nearly 50 selected projects from 17 LMICs are aligned with the foundation’s goal of fostering a global innovation ecosystem in places where it will have the most impact.
Each recipient will receive up to US$100,000 to advance its research project, for a total of US$5 million in grants. The findings of these projects will be shared at the Grand Challenges Annual Meeting in Dakar, Senegal, this October.
The selected projects aim to address a wide range of health and development issues across LMICs. Some examples include utilizing LLMs to improve high-risk pregnancy management for frontline health workers in India, tailoring agricultural advice for smallholder farmers in Uganda, enhancing educational outcomes through teacher coaching in Mali, and providing essential financial advice to rural women farmers and business owners in Nigeria. A full list of selected projects from Africa can be found here.
Kedest Tesfagiorgis, deputy director of Global Partnerships & Grand Challenges at the Gates Foundation, emphasized the foundation’s commitment to fostering collaboration and innovation to solve global issues. The foundation believes that diverse perspectives and cross-disciplinary collaborations are crucial for achieving progress in health and development.
As these projects kick off, the Gates Foundation remains dedicated to collaborating with partners worldwide. Their goal is to ensure that the benefits of AI technology are accessible and affordable for all, with a special focus on LMIC communities. The foundation emphasizes the importance of upholding safety, ethics, and equity while advancing AI solutions.