AI should back your best people, not replace them: data expert

Speaking at the recent Grants Impact Forum in Melbourne, Oliva-Altamirano called on the sector to keep people at the centre of any use of AI.

Ethics and oversight must come first

Oliva-Altamirano told the room full of grantmakers from around the country that while they must embrace the possibilities of AI, they should be wary of the ethical risks, particularly the potential for AI to reinforce bias through predictive or automated decisions.

“You’re the subject matter expert, not the AI,” she said. “Treat it like a peer reviewer, not a supervisor. It’s there to challenge your thinking, not to replace your judgment.”

Any use of AI should be transparently communicated to those affected, including grant recipients, she said. Where possible, it should incorporate human insights, particularly from people with lived experience of the social interventions targeted by the grant programs.

“Keep people in the loop. AI should support – not replace – community voice and local knowledge,” she said. “Explain your process, be transparent, and check the tool’s output with your peers.”

AI set to reshape grantmaking

If those basic principles are adopted, AI has the potential to transform how grant applications are written, reviewed and evaluated, Oliva-Altamirano said.

“If AI is writing the applications and AI is assessing them, then our current forms and processes might become obsolete,” she said. “This could be our chance to design something better – more dynamic, more human-focused, and less about ticking boxes.”

She noted AI is already helping some applicants, particularly those whose first language is not English.

“Using AI as an editor is helping them compete more confidently in the grant space,” she said. “But if it’s not used well, it can backfire. Applications can come across as flat or generic.”

She added that well-resourced organisations currently benefit most from AI.

“That’s why free training, resources and clear guidance are essential,” she said. “We don’t want the sector to widen the gap.”

Start small to incorporate effective AI in grantmaking

Grantmakers wanting to employ AI should start by focusing on practical, ethical uses of AI that improve their day-to-day work, Oliva-Altamirano said.

“Start by using AI to refine your work, not replace yourself.

“Try it as a thinking partner to summarise a report, draft a grant response, or make sense of messy feedback – but you still need to work on the foundations yourself.”

She warned against relying too heavily on general-purpose chatbots and other tools that claim to do “everything”, saying that these will often fail to meet expectations.

“People assume these tools are smarter than they really are,” she said. “And that leads to disappointment and missed opportunities.”

Instead, she advised starting AI use with low-risk, simple tasks.

“Using AI in your daily work is more of a mental shift than a technical one,” she said. “We all stick to tools we know – it’s human. Start small – ask AI to tidy up your emails or rewrite that paragraph you’ve been stuck on. That’s how you learn to give it the right context.”

Let purpose guide the use of AI

Oliva-Altamirano ended by urging grantmakers to adopt AI with clear goals in mind.

“Responsible AI in grantmaking means using tools that solve actual problems – not just chasing shiny tech,” she said. “The tools should respect the people behind the data, not reduce them to a data point. And they should support humans to do better work – not automate compassion out of the process.”

More information

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