Speck&Tech 88 "AI in humanitarian action"

Hey there! 👋

Speck&Tech is the digital community of Trentino, which, since 2016 - over a beer and a slice of speck - has brought together developers, data scientists, researchers, designers, and more broadly people passionate about technology. In over nearly 10 years, it has organized more than a hundred free events, open to everyone, with a simple and effective format: a couple of talks centered around a different theme each time.

AI is moving into places where the stakes are much higher than productivity and automation. In humanitarian settings, AI can help organizations reach people forced to flee, improve access to services, and support complex operational decisions. But when technology enters such environments, new questions emerge: what happens when an AI system is wrong, biased, or simply cannot explain its decisions?

Join us for an evening with two members of the Innovation team at UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, exploring how AI is being used in humanitarian action, from emerging applications and real-world opportunities to the challenges of fairness, transparency, and human oversight. Welcome to "AI in humanitarian action"!

This event will be fully in English 🇬🇧 Access to the venue is reserved for those with a valid ticket, which will be scanned at the entrance of Impact Hub Trentino. If you can’t join us in person, follow the live stream here.

This evening also marks the opening of a broader three-day event organized by the University of Trento, involving the Departments of Sociology and Social Research and Information Engineering and Computer Science, in collaboration with UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. Starting on Thursday, October 1, University of Trento students will take part in an intensive 48-hour hackathon, working in multidisciplinary teams on real-world data challenges related to refugee inclusion and humanitarian action.

Please find below our amazing speakers for the night:

1. BRENO ELIAS VALENTINI
🇬🇧 How Humanitarian Organizations are using AI: opportunities, risks, and emerging practice

ABSTRACT: Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming how organizations work, but what does its adoption look like in humanitarian settings? Drawing on examples from UNHCR's global innovation portfolio, this talk explores how AI is being used to support people forced to flee, from improving access to information and services to strengthening operational decision-making. Participants will gain an overview of the opportunities AI offers humanitarian organizations, as well as the risks, limitations, and ethical questions that arise when deploying these technologies in complex and resource-constrained environments. The talk will provide a practical introduction to the current state of AI in humanitarian action and the key challenges that remain ahead.

BIO: Breno Valentini is an Associate Innovation Officer at UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, where he manages and supports digital innovation projects through the Digital Innovation Fund. Based in Bologna, Italy, he works at the intersection of humanitarian action, product innovation, and digital transformation, helping design and scale solutions for displaced communities worldwide. He holds a Master's degree in Organizational Innovation and Entrepreneurship from Copenhagen Business School, where he specialized in innovation, human-centered research, and organizational change.

2. MOISES MALDONADO
🇬🇧 Designing Responsible AI for humanitarian decision-making: lessons from UNHCR's Cashy project

ABSTRACT: As AI systems increasingly influence decisions that affect people's lives, humanitarian organizations face unique challenges in ensuring these technologies are fair, transparent, and accountable. Through the case study of Cashy, an AI-assisted system developed to support humanitarian assistance targeting, this talk explores how UNHCR approaches the design and evaluation of Responsible AI systems. Participants will learn about the practical challenges of balancing technical performance with human oversight, explainability, and fairness, as well as key findings from research on trust, bias, and decision-making in high-stakes humanitarian environments.

BIO: Moises Maldonado is a Data Scientist and Innovation Officer at UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. He leads the design and development of Data and AI solutions to enhance global humanitarian operations through the Data Innovation Fund Programme. Complementing his role at UNHCR, he is a PhD candidate in Information Systems focusing on Responsible AI. He currently leads a major collaboration between the University of Zurich (UZH), the University of Lausanne (UNIL), and UNHCR, an initiative dedicated to embedding core humanitarian principles and values into the architecture of AI applications for the sector.

Impact Hub Trento is a coworking space where individuals and companies can work, grow, innovate, and connect. Impact Hub Trento offers flexible workstations, modern meeting rooms, and a dynamic community. Did you enjoy the environment, and are you part of the Speck&Tech community? Here’s an exclusive discount on your next Flex Membership!

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