First of 2 parts
Artificial intelligence, or AI technology, can help to protect vulnerable women, give them a voice in male-dominated communities and increase training opportunities in Southeast Asia thanks to innovative approaches by United Nations agencies.
With AI enabled technology becoming commonplace, the UN System is beginning to take advantage of the latest digital tools to bring gender equality closer to reality
Southeast Asia, a middle-income region with widespread internet coverage and relatively high digital literacy levels, is fertile ground for AI enabled development.
Here are three examples of initiatives that could help large numbers of women in their private and professional lives in the coming years.
Entrepreneurs
The Philippines is made up of an archipelago of thousands of islands that can be costly and difficult to reach from the country’s urban centers. This has meant that inhabitants of the more remote islands have often not been able to fully benefit from training opportunities offered by the UN and its partners.
Since December 2023, however, the International Labor Organization (ILO) has been supporting business owners, particularly women entrepreneurs, with the help of the latest AI chatbots.
“In many cases, trainers no longer need to travel to remote villages in far-flung islands and mountains,” says ILO Technical Specialist Hideki Kagohashi. “The trainer is a mobile phone chatbot.”
On Siargao Island, this chatbot is providing women selling coconut products with technical advice, and helping women entrepreneurs create digital marketing posts for Facebook, drastically reducing the time needed for daily posting from a few hours to just 10-20 minutes.
“Previously entrepreneurs often stopped posting because it took too much time over too long of a period to have demonstratable results,” Kagohashi explains.
“But now with generative AI, they can swiftly create higher quality content with relevant picture or video, more varied posts daily, complete with audience targeting for tone and content, leading to higher online engagement and increased sales.”
The project is still in pilot phase, but ILO and its partners will scale up AI-enabled coaching to reach at least 15,000 small and medium-sized businesses nationwide over the next three years. (To be continued)
UN News
