Donate to a charity

CAF accountManage your:
CAF American Donor Fund
CAF Charity Account
CAF Charitable Trust
CAF Company Account
CAF Charity Dashboard
CAF Donate
CAF Give As You Earn

CAF BankManage your bank account

InvestmentsManage your CAF Investment Account

Search box

Menu Close

Donate to a charity

COVID-19 Hub
I'm an individual
I'm a company
I'm a charity
CAF Bank
About us

For charities
For individuals
For philanthropists
For companies

Giving to charity >
Private Client Philanthropy >
Know more about giving >
Help and support >
Donate now >
Leave a lasting legacy
Grant making through us
Services for professional advisers

Employee giving >
Employee engagement >
Corporate giving >
Corporate and workplace fundraising
Impact advisory
Corporate grant making
Resource centre >

Adaptability resource hub
Everyday banking >
Savings >
Loans and social investment >
Investments >
Fundraising >
Your donations >
Grantmaking >
Strategic consultancy >
Legacies >
Trustees and charity governance

Everyday banking >
Loans >
Savings >
Help and support >
About CAF Bank >
Security centre >

Governance >
International >
Research and Commentary >
Careers
Press office >
Sustainability

Connecting you to charities
Open a giving account
Donate overseas
Payroll giving
Leave a lasting legacy

Manage your giving through us
CAF Charitable Trust
Paying Tax in the UK and US?
Become a social investor
Get expert consultancy
Meet the Team

Our tips, guides and information
Gift Aid
Tax efficient giving
The future of giving

Donating
CAF Charity Account
CAF Charitable Trust
Payroll giving
Expert consultancy
Grant making

Find a UK charity

CAF Give As You Earn
Grow your Payroll Giving scheme
Matching your employee donations
Get your Payroll Giving Quality Mark

Start engaging employees with charitable giving
Find out more about Payroll Giving
Payroll Giving resource hub

CAF Company Account
Manage your corporate grant making
Set up a corporate foundation

Corporate giving insight
Corporate giving case studies
Get in touch

Everyday charity banking
Online banking
CAF Bank Business card
Taking card payments
Bacs bureau service

Borrowing options
Secured loans with CAF Bank
Social investment with CAF Venturesome

Savings accounts
Instant access savings account
60 Day Notice Account
90 Day Notice Account
12 Month Fixed Rate Saver
1 Year Fixed Term Account
CAF Charity Deposit Platform

Investment products
Investment Knowledge Centre
Getting started

Fundraising tips and advice
CAF Donate
CAF Charity Dashboard
How to redeem CAF Charity Vouchers
CAF Donate Help

CAF Charity Dashboard
CAF Charity Dashboard Reporting
Sign up
CAF Charity Dashboard Help

Grantmaking with CAF
Getting a grant
Contact us

Supporting charity development and resilience
Meet the Team
Contact us

Legacies and your charity
Contact us

Contact us
FAQs
Tools and guides

Current account
Online banking
CAF Bank Business card
Taking card payments
Bacs bureau service
Interface for Third Party Providers

Secured loans
Loans for social housing projects
Social purpose development finance
Charity finance guides
Charity finance case studies
Intermediaries - Working with us

Instant access savings account
CAF savings options

We're here to help
Security centre
Protecting your money
Making a complaint

About us
CAF Bank Board of directors
CAF Bank Executives
Meet the team
Legal information
Regulatory information
CAF Bank Pillar 3 disclosure

CAF Bank Board Directors
CAF Bank Executives
Legal information
Regulatory information
CAF Bank Pillar 3 disclosure
Complaints procedure

Our trustees
Our executive
Committees
Annual reports
Our Standards and Conduct Policy
Legal information
Regulatory information
Complaints procedure

Case studies
Contact us

Giving Tuesday
Champion for charities
Groundwork for growing giving
Place based giving
Future:Good

Research
Policy and Campaigns
Publications
Blogs

Experts and Events

Giving Thought blog
CAF Venturesome blog
Public Affairs blog
Charities blog
Research blog

Development Fund
Contact us
SAR Volunteer Training Fund

Vacancies
Contact us

2019 publications
2018 publications
2017 publications
2016 publications
2015 publications
2014 publications
2013 publications
2012 publications
2011 publications
2010 publications
2009 publications
2008 publications
Archive
Contact us

How do we help protect you
How to keep yourself safe
Be aware - types of threat
How to spot a bank scam
Seen something suspicious

CAF accountManage your:
CAF American Donor Fund
CAF Charity Account
CAF Charitable Trust
CAF Company Account
CAF Charity Dashboard
CAF Donate
CAF Give As You Earn

CAF BankManage your bank account

InvestmentsManage your CAF Investment Account

Home
>
About CAF
>
Blog Home
>
Giving thought
>
The future of doing good
>
Civil society the missing link as we enter humanitys Fourth Industrial Revolution

Rhodri Davies

Head of Policy

Charities Aid Foundation

@Rhodri_H_Davies

Civil society, the missing link as we enter humanity’s Fourth Industrial Revolution

25 January 2019

An earlier version of this article first appeared on Third Sector.

Artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain and the Internet of Things (IoT); the emergence and growing power of these types of technology has led us to the edge of a “Fourth Industrial Revolution”. Up to now the tech companies of Silicon Valley and beyond have led this revolution; but if we want humanity to genuinely benefit from such a revolution, big tech can’t go it alone. It is essential that civil society organisations play a prominent role too.

The creations of the new tech titans are changing the way we work, communicate and interact with each other. They have already transformed financial systems, governance structures and even whole industries, and will continue to do so in ever more fundamental ways. Unfortunately the benefits are sometimes not distributed fairly across society, with some communities benefitting and others suffering. And civil society – organisations such as charities and NGOs – is left to pick up the pieces.

World Economic Forum brings together tech and civil society

To combat this, the World Economic Forum (WEF) this week launched a new project called “Preparing Civil Society for the Fourth Industrial Revolution”, at its annual Davos conference. WEF aims to bring civil society, industry and policymakers together to explore shared approaches to the opportunities and challenges that technological advances might bring. The organisation of which I’m Head of Policy – the Charities Aid Foundation – has provided policy recommendations to this report and forms part of the ongoing advisory group, having explored the potential impact of emerging technology on charities for a number of years in our own work.

Opportunities abound to deliver social and environmental missions more effectively through new technology. “Tech for good” is real-world concept, with genuine results. For example, since 2016 The Children’s Society has used AI-powered live translation tools when speaking with young refugees and migrants who have limited English language skills. Using the software, conversations are translated in real time using a mobile phone or Skype. Even in its relative infancy, artificial intelligence is helping to undermine the idea of things being “lost in translation”.

shutterstock_563134342 world economic forum image case study

The role of civil society

The role of civil society in the Fourth Industrial Revolution is not just about using technology, however. Civil society organisations must play a key role in highlighting how technological development can negatively impact vulnerable people and communities, the groups they are trusted to serve. And let’s face it, emerging technology has shown a dark side.

This was brought into sharp focus last year with the Facebook and Cambridge Analytica scandal. The question of how our online personal data is used will remain at the forefront of public attention. Likewise, there is a growing awareness that when algorithms are trained using data that contains historical biases, they exhibit and strengthen those same biases; and that this is having a real-world impact. People, due to their gender or skin colour, sometimes end up on the wrong side of automated decisions and this clearly has to stop.

Civil society organisations can bring to light the ways in which technology is affecting real people’s lives, and work with tech companies to ensure they minimise any unintended negative consequences. But we may also need to question some of our assumptions about the inevitability of technological development; and challenge the idea that problems with profound societal implications can be seen merely as questions of “tech ethics”, and dealt with from within the tech sector itself. In some cases, more traditional mechanisms of legislation and policy may be necessary.

The tech sector must acknowledge civil society

Civil society should rightly value the tech sector for its vast range of skills and tools, which are already transforming lives around the world for the better, but at the same time the tech sector has to acknowledge the perspective of civil society organisations. Let’s be reasonable here and recognise that this will not happen automatically. There is a huge power imbalance between civil society organisations and multi-billion dollar tech companies.

And even when they do meet they often seem to be speaking a different language. Organisations like the WEF therefore have a vital function in bridging the gap between these worlds and enabling all sides to engage in a meaningful way.

protecting humanity

Whenever there was a previous industrial revolution, civil society was involved in the huge social changes that resulted, fighting for fairness and equality. From the abolition of child labour to the introduction of clean air legislation, the work of civil society has helped to protect people from the harm done by technological change whilst ensuring that positive progress was shared as widely as possible.

As we enter the Fourth Industrial Revolution, civil society needs to play this role once more. The WEF’s new project offers a valuable platform to ensure this happens, and we look forward to working with them and many others to make this vision a reality.

House of Lords report on AI suggests key role for civil society

CAF has been calling for civil society to be involved in the ethical development of AI for some time.

Read our comment and the report ►

Artificial Intelligence and charity

We explore what effect Artificial Intelligence (AI) will have on the charitable sector's future.

What does AI mean for charities? ►

Future:Good

Our project to create a world where new technologies and social trends have a positive impact on the future of civil society.

Visit the future ►

Individuals
Donate now
CAF Charity Account
CAF Charitable Trust
CAF Charitable Legacy Service
CAF American Donor Fund
Giving to charity
Your philanthropy
Resource centre

Companies
CAF Give As You Earn
CAF Company Account
Corporate responsibility
Engaging employees
Corporate community
investment

Charities
Everyday banking
Borrowing
Social investment
Investments
Fundraising services
Expert Advice

About us
About CAF Bank
Security Centre
Media Office
Our blogs
Policy and Campaigns
Research
Experts and Events
Publications
Careers

Contact us
Help
Sitemap

Accessibility
Privacy

Modern Slavery Statement

Charities Aid Foundation © | Registered Charity Number 268369
25 Kings Hill Avenue, Kings Hill, West Malling, Kent ME19 4TA
10 St. Bride Street, London EC4A 4AD
Telephone: 03000 123 000