AI and CSR Series: Community-Centric AI for Social Good - United ...
In this final installment of the AI and CSR Series, we shift focus to community-centric AI – exploring how Artificial Intelligence can support Community Involvement and Development, one of the seven core subjects of ISO 26000 (the international CSR guidance standard). Previous entries in this series examined AI’s impact on labor rights, human rights, environmental sustainability, and fair governance. Now we consider how AI can help organizations uplift communities and contribute to social good in alignment with CSR principles.
ISO 26000 defines community involvement and development as an organization’s commitment to building sustainable local communities where education and well-being continually improve. It encompasses issues like community engagement, education and culture, employment and skills, technology access, wealth creation, health, and social investment. These are precisely areas where “AI for Good” initiatives can make a difference. By deploying AI solutions for social benefit – often termed AI for Good – companies, governments, and NGOs are finding innovative ways to:
AI for Social Good
Done right, AI can act as a “great equaliser”. For instance, Singapore’s National AI Strategy explicitly aims to “raise up individuals, businesses, and communities to use AI with confidence, discernment, and trust,” positioning AI as a tool that “equips people with the capabilities and resources to thrive in an AI-enabled future”. In other words, responsible AI deployment can empower even small communities with resources once available only to large organizations or wealthy populations. From smart village programs in developing countries to AI-driven public services in smart cities, the goal is to ensure that no community is left behind in the AI era.
Community-Centric AI Approach
However, technology alone doesn’t automatically lead to social good. If AI systems are developed without community input or awareness, they risk exacerbating digital divides or failing to address actual local needs. Thus, a community-centric AI approach is essential: this means putting community needs at the center of AI design and ensuring solutions are accessible and beneficial to those they intend to help.
In the next sections, we discuss how inclusive innovation and stakeholder engagement ground this approach, and we highlight real-world examples (from 2023–2025) where AI is being harnessed for community development in Asia and around the world.
Inclusive Innovation and Stakeholder Engagement
One key to community-centric AI is inclusive innovation – developing AI solutions with communities, not just for them. This entails actively involving stakeholders (local residents, end-users, community leaders, civil society groups) in the AI project lifecycle, from planning and design to implementation and oversight. Such stakeholder engagement is a cornerstone of both ISO 26000 and contemporary AI ethics frameworks.
In the context of AI, inclusive innovation might involve co-creating solutions with community members (e.g. participatory design workshops where developers and local users brainstorm AI tools for local problems), or consulting stakeholders about potential impacts (e.g. town hall meetings to discuss a new AI surveillance system’s privacy implications). This collaborative approach helps ensure AI initiatives are culturally sensitive, ethically sound, and truly address on-the-ground challenges rather than a top-down idea of what communities need. It also builds trust and local capacity – as community members gain understanding and ownership of the technology, they are more likely to adopt and sustain it.
Multi-Stakeholder Collaboration for Responsible AI
Recent dialogues in Asia emphasize the importance of bringing marginalized voices into AI governance and innovation. This sentiment reflects a growing consensus: responsible AI engagement requires multi-stakeholder collaboration. Governments, industry, academia, and community representatives must work together so that AI deployment is guided by ethical considerations and local context, rather than solely by technological possibility or profit.
Crucially, engaging stakeholders leads to better outcomes. When local users and domain experts (teachers, doctors, farmers, etc.) contribute to an AI project, the resulting system is more likely to be user-friendly and address the real pain points. Moreover, it can preempt risks: community input can surface potential harms or biases early on. Such dialogue upholds transparency and accountability, aligning with ISO 26000’s principles and building public confidence in AI.
Empowering Communities through AI
In short, stakeholder engagement transforms AI development into an inclusive innovation process – one that empowers communities as active partners. By incorporating diverse perspectives, AI for social good projects become more inclusive in both design and impact.
To illustrate how AI for good and community development come together, this section highlights several recent initiatives (2023–2025) that demonstrate community-centric AI in practice. These examples – spanning corporate, governmental, and non-profit efforts – show how AI is being leveraged to empower local communities such as youth, the elderly, rural populations, and underrepresented groups. They also reflect alignment with ISO 26000’s guidance on issues like education, health, technology access, and stakeholder partnership.
Skills and Knowledge Development for Community Empowerment
One fundamental way to involve communities in the AI era is to equip them with the skills and knowledge to participate. A notable example is a joint initiative by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Microsoft, launched in mid-2023, aimed at training underserved youth across Asia in AI. Through digital skills workshops, access to technology, and internships/certifications, the program seeks to bridge the digital divide among young people. By empowering youth with AI know-how, it not only improves their job prospects but also enables them to solve challenges in their own communities using technology. Such inclusive innovation builds a pipeline of diverse AI talent and ensures the next generation – including those from marginalized backgrounds – can actively shape an AI-driven future.
Corporate philanthropy is also boosting AI education in the region. In 2024, Google.org (the company’s charitable arm) partnered with the Asian Development Bank on a $15 million AI Opportunity Fund for Asia-Pacific. This fund supports NGOs and social enterprises in upskilling workers (especially from underserved communities) with critical AI and digital skills. By investing in human capital development, these initiatives align with ISO 26000’s emphasis on employment creation and skills development as part of community development. Importantly, they involve multiple stakeholders – governments, companies, and international agencies – collaborating to ensure AI literacy and opportunity.
