Social entrepreneurs AI era: how to be lucid and guided by impact

Share it and Latitudes support SSE in an informed and responsible adoption of AI to maximize its social and environmental impact through two areas of work:

1. Understand and assess impacts and biases to propose more ethical alternatives by identifying less energy-consuming and more specialized solutions, by seeking transparency (design, sources of training data) and by aiming for sovereignty.
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2. Evaluating the potential of AI by exploring AI through concrete use cases adapted to the needs of SSE and by testing AI only where it seems to become essential, by ensuring its added value by measuring its direct impact.

This article summarizes our thoughts at the beginning of 2025 and invites you to take action through some practical advice and examples.
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A turning point including for the impact economy

Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming our societies at breakneck speed for the better (or for the worse?) , while remaining a technology that is still on the fringes in the voluntary sector. Between lack of funding, lack of technical skills and vagueness around use cases, it is still far from being integrated into current SSE operations.

You may be wondering if you are “late”? Don't worry: the adoption of AI is still in the experimental phase - in the voluntary sector as well as in the purely commercial sector! Today, the real challenge is to start thinking about the roles that this technology can play. Social entrepreneurs, thanks to their proximity to beneficiaries, have a unique role to play in ensuring that the use of AI is also ethical, inclusive and at the service of the common good.

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What do you start with?

Optimizing: your right hand for internal efficiency

AI can be an asset in improving operational efficiency, allowing you to devote more time to value-added tasks. But do we still have to give ourselves the means to do so:

1. Take the time to test AI tools : the best way to understand AI is to dive into the real world. Before implementing a tool, spend about ten hours exploring it with your team. This will allow you to measure its real added value and avoid unnecessary investments in the future. By investing this time, you'll better understand how each tool can — or can't — transform your internal processes.

2. Encourage your teams to experiment with the tools themselves : the key to successful adoption is ownership. Give your teams the opportunity to manipulate AI tools and discover their potential by themselves. This autonomy of experimentation allows everyone to take advantage of the technology, to learn gradually and to identify the most relevant fields of application.

3. Organize regular feedback : to successfully integrate AI, it is essential to draw practical lessons from the first experiments. Organize feedback to get feedback from your teams, understand what's working, and adjust your strategy.

We were able to talk with non-profits like Solinum or organizations like City to Joie who apply this approach by implementing AI solutions to automate repetitive tasks, freeing up time to better focus on their beneficiaries. This feedback allows them to strengthen their operational efficiency in a concrete and adapted way, step by step.

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Boost your impact: whoever wins must be your beneficiary

While AI can optimize your internal functioning, it can also become a powerful lever to multiply your impact on your beneficiaries. However, it is crucial to use it where it has real added value and where it does not replace, but complements, human intervention.

Identify impacting use cases : AI should not be adopted for the simple pleasure of using new technology. For each case, ask yourself: does AI make it possible to support more beneficiaries, to better meet their needs or to achieve objectives that are otherwise inaccessible (due to lack of time or resources)? If it only brings marginal benefit, it is best to focus your efforts on other more relevant approaches.

In need of inspiration? Libraries Without Borders is a great example. intelligent integration of AI. By deploying AI solutions to design educational and cultural projects adapted to marginalized populations, the association is making this technological revolution a revolution in access to knowledge and education in the world.
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A lucid and conscious use of AI to avoid side effects on the environment

The adoption of AI is not without consequences. AI is extremely energy-intensive, starting with the training of complex language models. The exponential democratization of its use explodes the quantity of energy useful for its operation.

Paradoxically, to date (at the beginning of 2025) there is no standardized framework for measuring its environmental impact. Each organization assesses its energy expenditure according to its own criteria, without a common method or obligation of transparency. This lack of standardization makes responsible decision-making difficult, especially for organizations which are engaged in missions of general interest.

Be “techno-lucid” and ask yourself this central question before adopting an AI tool: what is the impact of using this technology for my business? Is it interesting enough, compared to its environmental impact? While AI frees up time and resources for actions with high added value for your beneficiaries, it is not illogical to seriously consider it. If not, you could prefer alternative solutions that consume less energy.

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Step by step for a successful AI

AI is a complex technology, and it is normal not to be able to integrate everything at once, especially when it comes to applications directly intended for your beneficiaries. To adopt AI in an effective and sustainable way, it is recommended to follow a gradual approach:

1. Identify your specific business cases : take the time to target application areas where AI could really make a difference. For example, could you use AI to improve the personalization of support for your beneficiaries or to analyze impact data in more depth, like MaVoie did ?

2. Seek expert help : once your use cases have been defined, do not hesitate to ask for support. Working with tech experts can help you frame your projects and choose the right technologies.

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An “IA for Good” program designed for associations

Integrating AI into a social organization can seem complex. That's why Share it, Latitudes and Bayes Impact are working on the development of the program. IA for Good to provide associations with resources adapted to their needs:

1. Anti-fog newsletter : to discover real use cases of AI in the voluntary sector. By sharing the experiences of different associations, we give you concrete ideas to adapt these solutions to the needs of your beneficiaries.

2. Webinars and training : to strengthen your internal efficiency and develop your critical thinking about AI. These events will allow you to discuss technical, ethical, and practical issues.

3. Concrete support: to develop the first AI prototypes in the service of the general interest for three non-profits during of our first hackathon in November 2024 and soon through our first AI support with the Share it methodology in 2025!

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Artificial intelligence is a fascinating and complex subject at the same time. Every day, through our exchanges between the worlds of technology and social impact, we seek to discover how AI can be put at the service of the general interest. If you are interested in certain aspects of our approach or if you simply want to discuss them, do not hesitate to contact us - we will be happy to discuss with you (contact@share-it.io)!

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