From Tehran to Tech: How Nasim Motalebi is Pioneering AI for Humanitarian Action

WFP considers the ethical and responsible use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML)?as?vital to addressing global food insecurity.

These technologies have already enabled WFP to accelerate emergency responses, enhance predictive capabilities for early warnings and anticipatory actions, facilitate direct communication with affected communities via chatbots, and foster a more agile and efficient workforce.

As the gap between humanitarian needs and available resources continues to grow, technologies such as AI can maximize limited resources, enabling humanitarians to reach more people and to do so faster and more effectively.??

Today, as part of our #WomenInTech series, we introduce you to Nasim Motalebi, Ph.D. , WFP's first-ever AI lead. She shares more about her global journey, passion for humanitarian tech, and vision for responsible AI in the fight against hunger.

Hello! Tell us a bit more about yourself and your journey to WFP. How did you come to join the organization?

Hi! I am originally from Tehran, Iran, but I was born in Isfahan and have lived abroad on three continents for more than half my life. However, as an Iranian, I was always surrounded by international politics and debates, so I developed a keen interest in learning about different cultures and communities. I learned to travel, and what I enjoyed the most about traveling was having a conversation with many welcoming strangers from around the world, who hosted me over their local food. I believe this is why I find myself most comfortable in multi-cultural environments such as the UN.

That said, my career journey into the humanitarian sector began during my PhD research, where I explored the implications of technologies in response to protracted crises, especially those driving forced displacement. During this time, I spoke to many refugees across East Africa, South America, and Southeast Asia.

This fueled my passion for addressing socio-technical inequalities and supporting digital development on a global scale. Since 2019, I have worked on numerous issues relating to the humanitarian-development nexus, localization, and digital innovation that exacerbate existing social inequalities.

Ultimately, with the rising interest in Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) in 2023, I recognized the need to support humanitarian organizations to develop best practices for responsible AI adoption. So, I joined UN OCHA to help develop guidance on AI for humanitarians.

I was happy to see that my work at OCHA was well received by the humanitarian community. From there, I realized this was just the beginning. Ultimately, after I completed my PhD in December 2023, I decided to continue working in this space, where I could help humanitarian organizations with their AI transformation journey. After a lot of back-and-forth with different organizations, I joined WFP as the AI Lead to be closer to operational work, where I can support AI policy and implementation strategies across the organization.

What does your work entail, and?how does it contribute to WFP's mission??

As the AI Lead at WFP, I wear multiple hats to support the organization's needs around AI. My primary responsibility is to develop and implement WFP's AI strategy for the next three years. The AI strategy can help WFP to bring focus on its approach to AI, mitigate risks associated with it, and enhance the organizational AI readiness for adoption and even use of AI across the organizations' digital value chain. So, a large portion of my time goes to understanding the needs and priorities of the organization and how to remain steadfast in our deliberate adoption of AI in contribution to WFP's strategic priorities and operational needs.

Other than the AI strategy, I am supporting WFP in adapting to the high demand and fast-changing landscape of AI. For example, defining benchmarks and developing end-to-end processes for streamlining and mainstreaming AI adoption across the organization. I also hope that as I settle into my new role, I can enhance the organization's regulatory environment around AI while helping to develop resources for data management and AI literacy that can maximize the benefit of AI for the organization.

From your perspective, how can Artificial Intelligence enable WFP's mission to save and change lives? Can you give us an example or an experience that helps illustrate its potential?

AI can lead to a transformative impact on WFP, especially for emergency response and enhancing sustainable solutions for food resilience. With new and growing large language models (LLMs), we see a lot of potential for enhancing capabilities for relief chatbots to provide immediate information access to crisis-affected populations.

And, of course, LLMs enable us to augment our workforce with data analytics, enhancing the value of the large amounts of qualitative and unstructured data. It also helps us better use audio-visual narratives directly from the field. All such possibilities will enable WFP to generate more insight, be more effective in targeting, and be accountable to the people it serves and its donors.

Computer Vision and Generative AI models, for example, can also help us enhance the quality of drone or satellite data to create field maps for post-disaster damage assessment and response. They can be used for crop mapping, earth observation, and predicting climate shocks, which inform farming and agriculture and are critical to sustainable solutions for socio-economic livelihoods.

These are just a few examples of how AI can bring value to the organization. Supply chain optimization, early warning systems, and enhanced cybersecurity are other areas where AI can bring further value to WFP.

What areas of our work are most compatible with these technologies??

AI can support WFP's priorities in four areas: emergency preparedness and response, digital inclusion and livelihoods, accountability and oversight, and an augmented workforce. Specifically, it can help us make data-driven decisions in these areas.

We can already see how LLMs and Generative AI can help us generate better insight into school feeding programs or make education more accessible across different languages and different topics.

AI can especially help us enhance knowledge management and evidence synthesis and support digital inclusion by making data operations more accessible to the organization. These all lead to better program design, such as nutrition, education, and women empowerment.

Nevertheless, further exploration is needed to understand the limitations of AI, especially concerning context-sensitivity, toxicity, and harm to its users.

How mature is WFP in using AI? From your perspective, what is required of the organization to unlock its potential fully?

The industry trends in production show us that scaling AI solutions is complex. Only 11-12% of AI proof of concepts reach a production level. This is mainly due to limited AI maturity, weak data quality, inadequate governance, and limited capabilities.

Looking at the ongoing process and AI projects at WFP, the organization is still at an early stage of AI interest and experimentation on the AI maturity curve. This is heavily tied to WFP's data maturity level, detailed in WFP's recently published data strategy.

Currently, WFP's data maturity is 'local' and 'active,' which mirrors its AI maturity level, somewhere between 'chaotic' but 'aware' and 'local' and 'active.' WFP's ambitions to drive value from scalable AI solutions will require reaching a proactive level of AI maturity, whereby AI solutions are in production and can drive value.

To reach this proactive level, WFP needs to invest in the foundations of AI, data, governance, and people as well a high impact domains that drive value for the organization. We need to ensure our data is AI-ready, but we also have processes in place to minimize the risks of AI and reduce duplicability in the organization. But most importantly, we need to value our workforce. We need to build upon their knowledge and provide them with the toolkit they need to utilize AI effectively.

If there is one thing you want people to take away from using AI in humanitarianism, what would it be??

We need to cut through the hype. AI isn't everything and is not going to solve all of our problems. It also will not replace our jobs. AI is a powerful data machine that can show us the reality of our data, the biases, gaps, and inaccuracies. AI tools today can amplify the discrepancies we see in our data.

The main risk is when our use of AI reinforces our preexisting human biases—something that we often forget to talk about. AI is biased because of the data it is trained on.

It takes human oversight and critical knowledge sharing to ensure we are not misusing AI by becoming aware of our biases or shortcomings, which can be perpetuated by AI.

As a woman in this field, what have been some of the most important lessons you've learned in your career to date??

I want to quote writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, "You cannot create anything of value without self-doubt and self-belief. Without self-doubt, you become complacent. And without self-belief, you cannot succeed."

In my career journey, I have always fought a balancing act between the two. It is undoubtedly difficult, especially in a field with much external pressure, to label or put women in a technology box.

So, the lesson I learned was to rise above the external pressure and judgment by being my own worst critic. Having multiple mentors, exposure to as many learning opportunities as possible, and being kind to myself also helped me develop a healthy balancing act. These few steps have helped me find my vocation and voice through a very turbulent career journey.

What?were?some of the biggest challenges you've faced??at WFP, and how did you effectively navigate them?

WFP is a very large organization, and this has its pros and cons. I have recognized that extensive processes have reduced organizational incentives for collaboration due to the fear of being caught in further bureaucratic processes. This has also caused a fragmented AI culture, with many ongoing AI activities that are siloed or in competition. I find this a challenge for scaling AI solutions against the backdrop of limited funding and resource scarcity.

There is also a language and knowledge gap regarding AI. Despite a skyrocketing interest in using AI, there is limited knowledge of where AI can bring value to WFP or how it can be used. We often speak about technology-driven AI use cases. This approach risks investing in AI solutions that are not impact-driven and may not be useful in action.

Lastly, AI is a transformative technology. So organizations such as WFP also need to adopt an open, flexible, cooperative, and agile approach. WFP is not new to agile working, but it can benefit from a culture change to facilitate the other three components, as we need to adapt and change with AI's fast-changing environment.

From your perspective, what can we do to empower more women to flourish in this field??

We need to give voice to the most vulnerable women. Women are empowered when they have the freedom to choose, voice their presence, and act on their capacities.

We need to support women in accessing quality education in STEM subjects, mentorship opportunities, and role models who inspire and guide them along their journey. We also need to create inclusive workplace cultures that value diversity, provide equal opportunities for advancement, and address gender biases.

The presence of women in the technology field is crucial in fighting Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence as well. AI, for example, can lead to defamation, sex trafficking, domestic abuse, and other forms of direct or indirect violence against women.

These risks are also at large due to the limited presence of women in the tech industry. We need to support women by providing them the space to explore the gender-digital divide, inequalities, and harm associated with AI and other technologies. We also need more women in leadership positions because they can guide us in navigating the societal implications and nuances related to technologies.

To stay up-to-date on WFP's use of data, AI, and ML, follow WFP Digital on LinkedIn and visit wfp.org/innovation.