With wealth concentrated in the hands of an increasingly narrow minority, causes valued by top earners (and their foundations) naturally receive the most charitable funds. Because of this, wealthy donors have a disproportionate responsibility to look beyond personal bias and allocate their funds wisely.

Is there a better way? With artificial intelligence on the rise, there could be.

Machines, unlike people, can crunch numbers quickly and give objective advice that’s entirely unhampered by emotion or impulse. As Rhodri Davies, head of policy for the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) explains, “An AI with access to vast quantities of data and the ability to analyse it at greater depth and speed than a human ever could is going to add value when it comes to identifying most acute pressure points in terms of social or environmental needs at any given time.”

Davies goes on to outline how AI could identify the most pressing needs, provide a framework for effective giving, align with donors’ values, and maximize donor satisfaction. It could also reduce the cost of philanthropic advice by opening it up to the mass market.

AI chatbots already offer advice across a variety of industries, and philanthropy is no different. Arthritis Research UK, for instance, uses a virtual assistant developed with IBM Watson to give site visitors tailored information about the condition. Such a chatbot could, in theory, provide personalized advice to donors about where and how their funds can be put to use.

Read the full article about how AI can make your charitable dollars go further by Debrah Charatan at VentureBeat.