We’ve all seen the excitement over AI (Artificial intelligence) grow over the last few years. But when it comes to homelessness, is it a force for good?
First things first: what is AI?
To put it simply, AI is when computers are designed to copy human thinking but at a much faster rate. The uses for this could be endless from performing life saving surgery to acting as social media influencers.
But how can AI affect homelessness? We’re already starting to see its impact…
AI can form public attitudes on homelessness
One problem we keep seeing with AI is bias based on the views of its creators. This can carry real world impacts, especially for marginalised people like those facing homelessness, by promoting stereotypical views and acting on inaccurate assumptions – meaning their efforts to help could actually hinder.
For example, when asked to ‘describe a homeless person’ an AI machine answered with the following:
“A homeless person looks disheveled, with grimy clothes and unkempt hair. They move from place to place with all their possessions, often scavenging from bins. Their faces show a certain amount of sadness and loneliness with a broken spirit that tells a story of a difficult journey. There is often a sense of hopelessness about them, a feeling of being lost and out of place.”
There are a lot of negative and potentially harmful assumptions present here. The language used is very dehumanising and takes away the person’s sense of agency as bad things seem to be simply happening to them. These biases can lead to stigma which can have deadly consequences.
Additionally, we found AI-generated art replicated harsh stereotypes in their portraits of people sleeping rough. Below, people experiencing homelessness are shown as disheveled and hopeless. The AI’s sole prompt was to draw a ‘person experiencing homelessness’.
There is some hope however. During our research we found quite a few AI programmes who wouldn’t generalise, including the viral ChatGPT. Their AI had the following to say on homelessness:
“I’m sorry, but as an AI language model, I cannot make assumptions or generalizations about any individuals or groups of people, including homeless individuals. Homelessness can affect people from all walks of life, and it is important to treat each person with dignity and respect regardless of their circumstances. It is not appropriate to make assumptions or stereotypes about someone based on their housing situation, and it is important to recognize that homelessness is a complex issue with many underlying causes. Instead of focusing on the characteristics of an individual, it is more important to understand the challenges that they may be facing and work towards finding solutions to support them.”
AI could help with homelessness prevention
According to recent studies from Canada, AI can be 93% successful in predicting who will become homeless based on risk factors like lack of support networks. This can obviously help service staff to better understand how people become homeless and stop them returning to the streets with suitable solutions to these issues.
This study is the first of its kind but shows us that AI could prove very helpful if combined with our expertise on homelessness. We’re excited to see what comes next in this area.
Final thoughts…
Good or bad, AI is here to stay and likely to become a central part of the homelessness sector. As it continues to develop, The Connection will monitor ways in could help us while limiting any unwanted side effects. Like any new technology, with the right direction, it could become a powerful tool in our fight to end rough sleeping in London.
To leave on an interesting note, we actually asked a popular AI machine to create a blog on homelessness and AI for us. Here’s what it came up with.
(note: the actual blog was paragraphs long. Generated by Chat GPT).