Can human-led AI spark a new era of generosity?

"For 50 years, America's generosity has been stuck in neutral with charitable giving frozen at 2.5% of GDP. But not because people stopped caring. In 2024, total giving hit record highs, and food banks saw donations surge as families faced delays in SNAP benefits. The heart is there. What's missing is technology that turns generosity into lasting impact. We can't solve today's biggest problems, from food insecurity to climate change to health inequity, without unlocking the full potential of AI."

"If generosity is the fuel, AI is the engine. As we look to reignite that engine, the clear path forward is to empower the social good ecosystem with smarter, more human technology. Enter the Generosity Generation. It's not an age group, but a global movement of people across every generation using innovation to turn compassion into scale. The movement is built on the belief that connection beats competition, collaboration beats control, and impact grows when information flows freely."

"Achieving that scale requires a shift in how technology serves people. The next leap won't come from software that asks humans to do more work, but from AI that helps them do more good. Human-led AI doesn't replace purpose; it amplifies it. It's how we break 50 years of stagnation and build a more generous world. Software is meant to save time. Instead, for many organizations, it feels like one more task to manage before the real work begins."

For fifty years charitable giving in America has remained near 2.5% of GDP despite continued public generosity. In 2024 total giving reached record highs and food bank donations surged as families faced SNAP delays. Technology is identified as the missing link that can translate compassion into sustained impact by connecting data across causes, predicting needs, and measuring outcomes. AI can provide smarter, human-centered tools that amplify purpose rather than add administrative burden. The Generosity Generation is a global movement using innovation, collaboration, and free information flow to scale impact and break decades of stagnation.

Read at Fast Company