Welcome to Hive Mind

a learning space for activists, trainers, and organizations. We help civil society actors to build their digital resilience.

Article

Why AI Readiness for West African Civil Society Cannot Be Leapfrogged

When mobile money transformed financial inclusion across West Africa in the 2000s and 2010s, it appeared to validate the idea that developing regions could bypass costly and slow-moving institutional infrastructure to adopt emerging technologies directly. Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal did not need to build extensive branch banking networks before their populations could transact digitally. The mobile phone, it seemed, was sufficient. This is the logic of leapfrogging; skipping generations of technology to land directly at the frontier.

Expert of the week

Diana Filimon

Term of the week

Digital well-being

Tool of the week

There’s An AI For That

"There’s An AI For That" (theresanaiforthat.com) is a large-scale aggregator and search engine designed to help users discover artificial intelligence tools mapped to specific tasks, jobs, and workflows. It serves as a centralized repository for the rapidly expanding AI ecosystem, indexing tens of thousands of applications across diverse industries. Key Features and Functionality Task-Based Search: The platform uses a "reverse-lookup" approach, allowing users to search by the specific problem they need to solve (e.g., "transcribe audio," "generate architectural renders," or "automate Excel") rather than searching by tool name. Comprehensive Categorization: Tools are organized into thousands of distinct tasks and mapped to professional roles. This structure helps users identify niche AI solutions that may not be found through general search engines. Human-Vetted Listings: According to the platform, listings are manually reviewed and updated. This process includes verifying functionality, clarifying pricing structures, and retiring defunct tools to maintain the database's relevance. Advanced Filtering: Users can filter results by pricing model (e.g., 100% Free, Freemium, Free Trial, or Paid), platform (e.g., Browser Extension, API, Mobile App), and release date. Timeline and Trends: The site features a "Timeline of AI" that tracks the evolution of AI capabilities and events, as well as leaderboards showing trending tools based on user saves and engagement.  Navigation and Utility For researchers and professionals, TAAFT functions as a market-scanning tool to evaluate the current state of automation in a given field. Users can create personal profiles to save tools into custom libraries or access curated "Starter Packs" for specific use cases. Note on tool selection: While the platform vets listings for basic functionality, it is a directory rather than a certification body. The presence of a tool on the site does not guarantee data security or output accuracy. Users should perform independent security assessments and verify the terms of service—especially regarding data privacy—before integrating a discovered tool into their professional workflow.