Voices is a new mini-series from Humanitarian AI Today. In daily five-minute flashpods we pass the mic to humanitarian experts and technology pioneers, to hear about new projects, events, and perspectives on topics of importance to the humanitarian community.
In this flashpod, Cole Leng, an AI Researcher at Harvard and former Project Manager with Nexa AI, sits down with Humanitarian AI Today producer Brent Phillips to discuss the state-of-the-art and future trajectory of on-device machine learning.
The discussion provides researchers and staff from humanitarian organizations with important insights into where the state-of-the-art in on-device machine learning stands today and where the cutting-edge is heading. Cole examines the critical trade-offs between on-device and cloud models, analyzing their respective workflows, performance limitations, and implementation considerations to help listeners evaluate whether on-device ML applications are suitable for their specific needs. He also offers insight into choosing LLMs, the impact of new specialized hardware on performance and capability, and how current advances in ML are shaping the next generation of applications.
This episode highlights a core goal of the Humanitarian AI Today podcast: fostering dialogue between technology researchers and humanitarian practitioners. As AI and ML capabilities scale rapidly, this cross-sector engagement is crucial for mapping new technical advances to the unique operational, privacy, and resource constraints of the humanitarian field.
Substack notes: https://humanitarianaitoday.substack.com/p/cole-leng-on-the-state-and-future
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Voices is a new mini-series from Humanitarian AI Today. In daily five-minute flashpods we pass the mic to humanitarian experts and technology pioneers, to hear about new projects, events, and perspectives on topics of importance to the humanitarian community.
In this flashpod, Cole Leng, an AI Researcher at Harvard and former Project Manager with Nexa AI, sits down with Humanitarian AI Today producer Brent Phillips to discuss the state-of-the-art and future trajectory of on-device machine learning.
The discussion provides researchers and staff from humanitarian organizations with important insights into where the state-of-the-art in on-device machine learning stands today and where the cutting-edge is heading. Cole examines the critical trade-offs between on-device and cloud models, analyzing their respective workflows, performance limitations, and implementation considerations to help listeners evaluate whether on-device ML applications are suitable for their specific needs. He also offers insight into choosing LLMs, the impact of new specialized hardware on performance and capability, and how current advances in ML are shaping the next generation of applications.
This episode highlights a core goal of the Humanitarian AI Today podcast: fostering dialogue between technology researchers and humanitarian practitioners. As AI and ML capabilities scale rapidly, this cross-sector engagement is crucial for mapping new technical advances to the unique operational, privacy, and resource constraints of the humanitarian field.
Substack notes: https://humanitarianaitoday.substack.com/p/cole-leng-on-the-state-and-future
Perry Hewitt from Data.org on Accelerating What's Possible in Social Impact
Humanitarian AI Today
6 minutes 27 seconds
1 month ago
Perry Hewitt from Data.org on Accelerating What's Possible in Social Impact
Voices is a new mini-series from Humanitarian AI Today. In daily five-minute flashpods we pass the mic to innovators, researchers and practitioners on the humanitarian front lines, delivering real-time news on how they are building, testing and collaborating on uses of artificial intelligence.
On this Voices flashpod, Perry Hewitt, Chief Strategy Officer at Data.org joins Humanitarian AI Today podcast host Brent Phillips to discuss Data.org’s role in supporting the social impact community’s transition into digital and its transition now into data and AI, and Data.org’s new report ‘Accelerate What’s Possible’ - a roadmap for how data and AI can be used innovatively and intentionally to drive social impact. They also touch on Data.org’s Activate AI: Economic Opportunity Challenge, their partnership with Zoom and the next Accelerate conference taking place in June 2026 in Bogotá, Colombia on the Javeriana University campus.
Notes: https://humanitarianaitoday.substack.com/p/perry-hewitt-from-dataorg-on-accelerating
Humanitarian AI Today
Voices is a new mini-series from Humanitarian AI Today. In daily five-minute flashpods we pass the mic to humanitarian experts and technology pioneers, to hear about new projects, events, and perspectives on topics of importance to the humanitarian community.
In this flashpod, Cole Leng, an AI Researcher at Harvard and former Project Manager with Nexa AI, sits down with Humanitarian AI Today producer Brent Phillips to discuss the state-of-the-art and future trajectory of on-device machine learning.
The discussion provides researchers and staff from humanitarian organizations with important insights into where the state-of-the-art in on-device machine learning stands today and where the cutting-edge is heading. Cole examines the critical trade-offs between on-device and cloud models, analyzing their respective workflows, performance limitations, and implementation considerations to help listeners evaluate whether on-device ML applications are suitable for their specific needs. He also offers insight into choosing LLMs, the impact of new specialized hardware on performance and capability, and how current advances in ML are shaping the next generation of applications.
This episode highlights a core goal of the Humanitarian AI Today podcast: fostering dialogue between technology researchers and humanitarian practitioners. As AI and ML capabilities scale rapidly, this cross-sector engagement is crucial for mapping new technical advances to the unique operational, privacy, and resource constraints of the humanitarian field.
Substack notes: https://humanitarianaitoday.substack.com/p/cole-leng-on-the-state-and-future
