AI for social justice

Mapping inequality in South Africa

We had hoped to find AI tools and applications that address social justice issues directly through this research, helping communities address, for example, economic and social inequalities.

Although we have not come across many AI projects that focus specifically on these goals, some African researchers are pioneering data-driven approaches that have the potential to highlight systemic discrimination or spatial apartheid, and to support more equitable resource distribution in public service provision.

DAIR

One example is led by the Distributed AI Research Institute (DAIR), an international group that developed a system that uses satellite imagery and geospatial data to map spatial apartheid in South African townships.

This research, led by Raesetje Safela, highlights persistent inequalities in land distribution and access to public services (including essential healthcare related funding), and provides policymakers with data to make better resource allocation decisions.

Here, we can see AI assisted research holding the potential to help bridge long-standing economic disparities and intergenerational systemic inequalities.

Further, as a civil society led initiative, DAIR’s work is a great example of how AI can be used to challenge traditional top-down resource allocation methods – a handful of researchers and developers can use data-informed methodologies to advocate for more equitable distribution of state resources at a policy level.