Giving Compass' Take:

• Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR) discusses the emergence of bots in nonprofits as a way to create more efficiency through civic engagement, but cautions that not everything is perfect.

• What are the opportunities for NGOs to use technology to serve people better? Bots could play a role, but regulation and monitoring will be crucial. The human element in social work shouldn't be phased out.

• Here are more ways that bots may be able to transform the way organizations communicate.

Our work in technology has always centered around making sure that people are empowered, healthy, and feel heard in the networks within which they live and work. The arrival of the bots changes this equation. It’s not enough to make sure that people are heard; we now have to make sure that technology adds value to human interactions, rather than replacing them or steering social good in the wrong direction. If technology creates value in a human-centered way, then we will have more time to be people-centric.

So before the bots become involved with almost every facet of our lives, it is incumbent upon those of us in the nonprofit and social-change sectors to start a discussion on how we both hold on to and lead with our humanity, as opposed to allowing the bots to lead. We are unprepared for this moment, and it does not feel like an understatement to say that the future of humanity relies on our ability to make sure we’re in charge of the bots, not the other way around.

History shows us that bots can be used in positive ways. Early adopter nonprofits have used bots to automate civic engagement, such as helping citizens register to vote, contact their elected officials, and elevate marginalized voices and issues. And nonprofits are beginning to use online conversational interfaces like Alexa for social good engagement. For example, the Audubon Society has released an Alexa skill to teach bird calls.

But there are also examples where a bot’s usefulness seems limited.

Read the full article about how bots can help civil society by Allison Fine and Beth Kanter at Stanford Social Innovation Review.