This document discusses how non-technical individuals can utilize AI for social impact. It provides an overview of the Making Waves text messaging service that uses AI to provide college and career advising. The document outlines opportunities for AI to address issues like opportunity gaps in education. It then discusses how to assess the feasibility of an AI implementation, including determining customer needs, considering multiple innovations, and using milestones to measure progress. The document emphasizes that diversity, equity, and inclusion should be priorities for any AI system.

1. AI for Social Impact
A guide for non-technical innovators

2. AI can be a tool in addressing social inequalities
and fueling societal change

3. Opportunity
Haskins, R. (2016). Education and Economic Mobility. The Brookings Institution.
https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/02_economic_mobility_sawhill_ch8.pdf
A bachelor’s degree is an important
step towards economic mobility

4. Clinedinst, M. (2020). 2019 State of College Admission. National Association for College Admission Counseling.
https://nacacnet.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/soca2019_all.pdf
Opportunity gap
29% of public schools employed a
full- or part-time college counselor

5. Visit making-waves.org/ai
A free text messaging service for
college and career planning
✓ Advanced filtering of unsafe content
✓ Remarkable 97% accuracy
✓ Easy to incorporate into your workflow
97% accuracy is based on an internal study of de-identified text message logs from January 1 to April 11, 2023.

6. Visit making-waves.org/ai
Automatically receive relevant
information and alerts
✓ No more scrambling at the last minute

7. Visit making-waves.org/ai
Ask any question by texting back
✓ Get a response in seconds – not days or weeks

8. Think of artificial intelligence as an
extra set of hands that never tire
“Text Making Waves first, then let’s meet”

9. Visit making-waves.org/ai
A free text messaging service for
college and career planning
✓ Advanced filtering of unsafe content
✓ Remarkable 97% accuracy
✓ Easy to incorporate into your workflow

10. Wave-Maker AI makes it possible to
provide multilingual college advising and
financial planning to students and families
nationwide
250
1400
3000
6000
10000
2022-23 2023-24 2024-25 2025-26 2026-27
Students and families

11. Non-technical individuals can utilize AI for
significant social impact

12. Search for your biggest pain points
It took weeks or months to tell a parent that their child
was going to repeat their grade level.
Our program was unintentionally frustrating students on
the cusp of college eligibility.
WHAT I
DO
Needed more inclusive guidance. Needed faster communication channels.

13. Determine if you have an opportunity
Capability
✓ More inclusive
✓ Faster communication
✓ One Medical
✓ AI in customer service
Osterwalder, A., Pigneur, Y., Bernarda, G., Smith, A. (2014). Value Proposition Design: How to Create Products and Services Customers Want. Strategyzer.

14. Consider multiple innovations at once
✓ More inclusive value proposition
✓ Direct to consumer
✓ Online appointment booking
✓ Standardized resources and outreach
✓ 24/7 multilingual support
Brand
Performance
Service
Channel
Network
Engagement
Structure
Profit model Process
Osterwalder, A., Pigneur, Y., Bernarda, G., Smith, A. (2014). Value Proposition Design: How to Create Products and Services Customers Want. Strategyzer.
System

15. Value added
Ease of
development
Scalability Rollout
Test and learn
Agree on regular cycles for
demonstrating progress and
course correcting
Build or buy?
Compare options based on
your social impact
requirements
Success measures
Anchor in typical milestones for
each stage of product
development
Assess the feasibility of your own AI implementation
Boston Consulting Group.

16. 16
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Use typical early-stage milestones to gauge progress
Phase 0
Need-finding. Idea, but no
product.
Phase 1
Logic model. Rapid iteration of
product and use case.
Phase 2
Review of literature. Usability
research.
Phase 3
Research in the wild. Efficacy
page on website. Repeatable
sales.
Phase 4
Strength of evidence analysis.
Focus on growth.
Phase 5
Multi-site research with quasi-
experimental design. Internal
systems and processes.
Phase 6
Randomized control trial.
Meaningful market share.
Phase 7
Mature product. Category
leader. Significant market
share. M&A activity.
Carolan, J., Zielezinski, M. (2019). Debunking the ‘Gold Standard’ Myths in Edtech Efficacy. EdSurge.
https://www.edsurge.com/news/2019-05-21-debunking-the-gold-standard-myths-in-edtech-efficacy

17. Diversity, equity, and inclusion and safe and
responsible deployment should be priorities in AI

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19. making-waves.org/ai