NLP-CoP Newsletter #24
Welcome to issue #24 of the Natural Language Processing Community of Practice (NLP-CoP) Newsletter - your monthly summary of what's happening inside the community, and in the wider world of NLP.
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Events
August 06: The Humanitarian AI+MERL Working Group and CDAC are hosting a session exploring humanitarian accountability and AI use from a number of critical perspectives. We are excited to host several experts to help us navigate this growing and often uncertain terrain. Register here to participate on August 06 at 9am ET/4pm EAT.
August 07: The Gender, MERL and AI Working Group invites Eva Blum-Dumontet (from Chayn) for a conversation about building feminist AI. Join us on August 07 at 11 am EDT/5 pm CET.
August 13: The Asia Pacific Evaluation Association is hosting an introductory webinar for Young and Emerging Evaluators, featuring MTI’s core collaborator Zach Tilton and Cheng Wang – Co-Founder & Co-Leader EvalYouth China.
August 14: The AI in Africa Working Group is convening to discuss African languages, linguistic complexity and ethical and inclusive AI, with experts Mpho Primus and Chido Dzinotyiwei. Sign up here to join the conversation.
Mid-August (date to be confirmed soon!) - Join us for a discussion on how the US AI Action Plan and Executive Order on “preventing ‘woke’ AI in the federal government” might affect the work of MERL professionals and contribute to inequality, mis- and disinformation and other information ecosystem issues. Registration information is coming soon.
Registration is open for the American Evaluation Association Conference: The event happening on 10-14 of November brings together 2,000+ evaluation professionals from multiple disciplines and backgrounds. MTI will be there with a booth, hackathon and a few sessions.
Community Updates
On June 30, the Ethics and Governance Working Group brought together qualitative research practitioners in an informal event to discuss how we’re adapting to the use of AI by research respondents. It was an incredibly rich discussion and you can read the key takeaways in this blog by Isabelle Amazon-Brown.
On July 17, we had our kick off meeting for the Climate, AI and MERL Working Group. Working group leads Cathy and Lakshmee, shared some of their planned programming for the next two quarters, including meetings focusing on AI data centers and resource management, small AI and alternatives to big-tech models. If you’re already a member of the NLP-CoP and would like to join this new working group, please do so by completing this form.
Since April, the Africa + AI Working Group Lead, Varaidzo Matimba, has been leading a landscape study to explore the connections between AI and MERL across Africa. The preliminary findings of this ongoing study can be accessed on our blog.
What we’re reading…
…at the Africa + AI Working group:
The International Centre of Expertise In Montreal on Artificial Intelligence (CEIMIA), has just published a White Paper that dives into Africa's AI landscape, pinpointing challenges and opportunities, and providing recommendations for governments, developers, and stakeholders to ensure AI truly benefits everyone. You can access the pdf version of the paper here.
CIPIT has also just released the 2nd edition of the State of AI in Africa Report which provides a detailed analysis of the progress, challenges, and emerging trends in artificial intelligence (AI) across the African continent.
A recent T20 South Africa side event, co-hosted by Research ICT Africa with the AI4D Network and the Data for Development Network, brought together African digital policy experts. The discussions culminated into a Statement of Recommendations to present practical actions for a globally inclusive digital landscape.
An investigation reveals how African children mine cobalt for AI data centers while university graduates develop PTSD training ChatGPT’s safety systems for under $2/hour—exposing the hidden human cost of artificial intelligence. https://aylgorith.com/the-hidden-cost-of-ai-how-africa-fuels-global-ai-while-being-left-behind/
…about Climate, AI and MERL:
Accessible zine that also includes a fun "hacker" section where you use ping and traceroute to find the location of data centers. https://emmlab.info/Resources_page/Data%20Center%20Fights_digital.pdf
…about AI in the humanitarian and social impact sector:
New commentary by Kristin Bergtora Sandvik focuses on AI as a buzzword in “aid talk”, exploring issues the framing of AI as a humanitarian problem: "Compared to previous humanitarian technology hypes, the conversations about AI are not occurring in a vacuum but in the context of the global backlash against Big Tech and ‘AI villains’—it seems the group of skeptics is in the majority. Moreover, in AI aid talk there is much less of the staple techno-optimistic comment that ‘technology is neutral, it is people who use it for good or bad.’ We do not know where the global technology race is going, who will be leading it, what it can contribute, what it will ultimately cost, and what all of this will mean for humanitarian action."
Comparing Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Traditional Qualitative Coding: UNICEF has reviewed the Management Responses to 160 humanitarian-focused UNICEF evaluations for the period 2017–2024 to better understand the key changes in humanitarian evaluation recommendations and management responses and assess how different generative artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning methods can speed up textual analyses.
Mahesh Karra and Saumya RamaRao have commented on the integration of AI into sexual and reproductive health, pointing out ethical concerns, the digital divide and the need for robust governance frameworks and global data protection laws.
NetHope is exploring how far the nonprofit sector has come in the application of Generative AI specifically. Read their new Guide to the Usefulness of Generative AI Solutions in Nonprofit Organizations
…about how to make AI better:
Behavioral scientists Samuel Salzer, Antoine Ferrère and Dr Paul Sacher have launched the Behavioral AI Institute, not-for-profit organization calling for the integration of behavioral science into how AI is designed, deployed, and monitored.
Earlier in July, Abeba Birhane—founder and lead of the TCD AI Accountability Lab (AIAL) keynote speech at The AI for Good Global Summit 2025 was censored. In this interview about the incident, Birhane talks about how we must rethink AI as we know it: “Larger, bigger scale general AI has to go. We need smaller models built on purpose and controlled and managed with small communities.”
Making AI testing accessible: UNESCO and our friends at Humane Intelligence have published a Playbook introducing Red Teaming as an accessible tool for testing and evaluating AI systems for social good, exposing stereotypes, bias and potential harms.
What is possible when communities shape AI on their own terms? Last month, seven African researchers shrank a multilingual language model by 75 percent. Read this reflection by ICT Works on the importance of competition and choice: “When a handful of companies control the foundational infrastructure of AI—from training to deployment—they effectively set the terms for everyone else’s innovation.”
…skills and knowledge: New research provides an overview of skills and knowledge professional software developers need to succeed in an age of Artificial Intelligence:
MTI Training
MTI offers a diverse menu of training modules covering everything from foundational concepts to advanced applications, our trainings can be delivered virtually, in-person, or in hybrid formats. The trainings can be mixed and matched based on your individual interests or your organization’s specific needs. Learn more here.
Take care all, and thanks for being part of the NLP-CoP!
Best,
Bárbara
Questions or Comments? Get in touch on Slack or reach out directly via hello@merltech.org!