Project summary

Let us assume a farmer in Finland facing an avian influenza (bird flu) risk. Farmers worry about their animals, family and livelihood. Some animals have to be culled to control the disease. Farmer needs clear information but also understanding & support. Just think if AI is helping a health worker write a message to that farmer. Does it explain the risks correctly? Does it recognize animals' suffering and farmer's concerns?

CARE Finland will explore these questions. With funding of 30000 USD, we propose a 3 month pilot in Finland. We will invite focal person of NGO named Doctors with Social Responsibility (LSV in Finnish), veterinarians, animal welfare specialists and farmers to share their experiences. Together we will develop a small collection of realistic situations (simulation exercises) involving avian influenza and communication. We will ask several AI tools to respond to this situations. experts will check whether the messages are accurate, follow official guidance and show proper concern over animal welfare. we will then test whether simple animal welfare instructions improve the responses. Small discussion sessions will help us make the messages clear and more useful. At the end, we will share findings, reviewed examples and practical communication checklist.

Our aim is to keep animals' welfare visible during emergencies while helping people receive clea and compassionate information.

What are this project's goals? How will you achieve them?

Our main goals is to test whether AI can provide clear and compassionate messages about avian influenza (bird flu) that consider animal welfare and farmers' concern. we will carry out small 3 months pilot in Finland with following specific objectives;

1. understand communication needs: we will speak with around 10 diverse participants to ask what information is useful and which concerns need more attention.

2. assess the quality of AI generated messages: we will develop around 20 realistic practice situations (for simulation exercises) and test 3 AI tools. experts will asses whether responses explain risks accurately, follow official guidance, recognize animal suffering and respond respectfully to framers.

3. test simple improvements: we will develop short animal instructions and a communication checklist. we will compare responses with and without these instructions using separate cases for final assessment.

4. produce useful material and share findings: we will invite experts to two small review sessions. their feedback will help us refine checklist and case scenarios. we will publish the findings and related material.

How will this funding be used?

Total budget: 30000 USD

1. project coordination, analysis and reporting - 7000 USD

2. veterinary and animal welfare expert review - 6500 USD

3. interviews and participants engagement - 4000 USD

4. AI testing and technical support - 3000 USD

5. Two professional review sessions - 4000 USD

6. communication materials and sharing findings - 3000 USD

7. contingency - 25000 USD

Who is on your team? What's your track record on similar projects?

I have in my team a doctoral researcher (Tampere University) from GPT lab who has experience in AI tools testing for communication. I am myself public health professional / epidemiologist with experience in One Health (interface of Human, animal and environment). I am also active member of LSV (https://lsv.fi/) working for One Health including Avian Influenza. I have proven track record of carrying out Manifund funded project in Liberia (West Africa).

What are the most likely causes and outcomes if this project fails?

This project may not succeed if too few farmers or experts participate, simulation exercises are not conducted well or AI messages show little improvement. It will result in limited evidence and communication material. if this approach doesn't work, we will share that openly and discuss what we learnt.

How much money have you raised in the last 12 months, and from where?

I have received 10000 USD from Manifund and 14500 USD from SHIFT grant in last 12 months to lead projects