Humanity in AI for Social Innovation Forum (HAIFOS) is a non-profit company, registered under Section 8 (1) of the Companies Act, 2013 with a vision to bridge the growing digital divide in rural India. Our story began in 2023, when a group of IIT Hyderabad students came together, recognizing growing digital divide in rural areas.
In our early years, we concentrated on understanding the core challenges rural populations faced within the digital landscape. Our team visited remote villages in Telangana and Bihar, conducted surveys, and engaged with farmers, youth, and women to gather insights into their struggles. We uncovered numerous stories of digital and cyber fraud, which eroded trust in technology among rural communities. Many people hesitated to adopt digital tools due to fear of fraud. In addition to these issues, we identified other significant challenges such as lack of digital literacy, misinformation, disinformation, and a general lack of awareness about benefit and risk of technology. Despite the potential of technology to solve many day-to-day challenges, people in rural areas remain reluctant to adopt it because of lack of digital skills, and information. Without the knowledge to effectively use technology, many feel disconnected from its benefits. As a result, a sense of distrust develops, with people perceiving technology as irrelevant or unsuitable for their lives. This distrust prevents communities from realizing how technology can make tasks easier, enhance livelihoods, and provide solutions to their pressing problems. Empowering them with digital literacy and accurate information is key to changing this perception.
Further, rapid AI advancements opened our eyes further to the digital divide. While urban areas quickly adopted these new technologies, rural communities had little to, no awareness of how these tools could impact their lives, in both positive and negative ways.” The emergence of AI and its biasness exacerbated the digital inequality. It became clear that rural areas were not just underserved; they were left behind in the rapid pace of technological advancement. We recognized the urgent need to create a digital ecosystem in rural areas that is trusted, fair, transparent, and accountable.
Through small activities like engaging with rural communities under grass root research program, AI awareness program, we are continuously learning. We realized that fostering trust and safety in technology required more than just teaching digital skills. It demanded an inclusive, human-centric approach—one that took into account the cultural context, local languages, and specific needs of marginalized communities. This belief became the cornerstone of our work, leading to our current multifaceted approach of community-driven initiatives, cross-sectional collaboration, and advocacy for equitable technology policies.
Looking ahead, HAIFOS aims to empower 15,000 rural individuals by 2030, enabling them to fully participate in the digital economy.