Artificial intelligence is no longer a distant prospect for UK businesses, it is already shaping how organisations write, analyse, design, plan, communicate and make decisions. For values-driven organisations, the question, therefore, is not whether AI will matter, but whether – and how – we can use it to strengthen our social purpose and positive impact, rather than dilute it. 

At both The Young Foundation and UCL Grand Challenge for Data Empowered Societies, we are interested in technology as part of the wider infrastructure that helps people and communities thrive. Used well, AI can help organisations make better use of time, evidence and imagination. Used carelessly, it can deepen inequality, erode trust, and distance decision-making from the people most affected by it. 

AI is about culture and participation as much as technology  

Many businesses first encounter AI as a productivity tool: a way to summarise documents, speed up admin, improve customer service, automate routine tasks, or support colleagues to work more efficiently. These are real benefits for organisations under pressure to do more with less. 

But AI is not simply another back-office system. It reflects the data it is trained on, the assumptions built into its design, and the incentives of those who deploy it. In a values-driven organisation, that makes AI a matter of governance, culture and participation as much as technology. The most important decisions are rarely about which tool to buy. They are about what kind of organisation we want to become. 

The promise: more time, better insight, wider participation 

With care, AI can help UK businesses contribute to social good in at least three practical ways. 

First, it can release capacity. When colleagues spend less time on repetitive tasks, they can spend more time on creative thinking, problem-solving, partnership-building and direct engagement with the people they serve. In charities, social enterprises, and mission-led businesses, that time is precious. 

Second, it can improve decision-making. AI can help teams explore patterns in data, test assumptions, identify gaps in evidence, and surface insights that might otherwise be missed. For organisations working on complex social challenges, better use of information can support more targeted, responsive and accountable action. 

Third, it can expand access, helping people find information more easily, contribute in different formats, and engage in ways that better fit their lives. 

This is not about replacing people, but strengthening their ability to connect, understand and act. 

The risk: efficiency without equity 

The danger is that, in a race for efficiency, organisations forget to ask who benefits, who is excluded, and who carries the risk. 

Bias is a concern. AI systems can reproduce or amplify existing inequalities, particularly when they are trained on incomplete or unrepresentative data. Privacy and data protection are equally important, especially where organisations work with sensitive personal information. There are also risks of over-reliance: systems that sound confident can be wrong, and decisions that affect people’s lives need human accountability. 

Further, if AI is introduced without dialogue, it can feel like something done to people rather than with them. Staff may worry about surveillance or job security. Communities may worry that their voices are being filtered through systems they cannot see or challenge. Trust, once weakened, is difficult to rebuild. 

For values-driven organisations, therefore, responsible AI cannot be a ‘bolt-on’; it must be integral to how we make choices, share power, and learn. 

Then there is the environmental cost of AI. Behind every apparently weightless digital interaction sits physical infrastructure: data centres, servers, cooling systems, electricity grids, water use, minerals and hardware. As AI becomes more embedded in everyday business practice, its sustainability impact accelerates. 

This means AI must be used with proportionality and purpose, questioning whether and when it is needed, where data is processed, what energy and water demands sit behind the service, and how suppliers report on carbon, water, land use, critical materials and e-waste. 

Care and creativity in practice 

 This is why organisations need clear policies on acceptable use, data protection, procurement, transparency, accountability and human oversight. It means testing tools before they are used in live settings, recording where AI has informed work, and ensuring colleagues know when and how to challenge outputs. 

It means going further than risk management, asking how AI could help people participate more fully in shaping decisions. It means involving staff, customers, communities and partners in deciding where AI is useful, where it is inappropriate, and what principles should guide its use. It means experimenting in small, transparent ways, learning from failure, and sharing what works. 

This is also an opportunity to show leadership. Social value is not created only through products, services or charitable giving; it is created through everyday decisions about employment, procurement, accessibility, environmental impact, and the use of data and technology. AI should be judged against those same standards. 

People-powered technology 

The best future for AI is not one where technology replaces human relationships, local knowledge or lived experience, it is one where technology helps organisations listen better, act faster, reduce avoidable burden, and open up new forms of participation. 

That future requires leaders to ask difficult questions, and be brave enough to experiment where the answers are not yet clear. It requires businesses to treat AI as a test of their values. 

If these challenges and ideas resonate, there is time to act. The Young Foundation, together with UCL, are planning interventions later this year, bringing together social enterprises, responsible businesses, and research communities to explore how values-based approaches to AI adoption can help drive social benefit.  

With care and creativity, UK businesses can embrace AI for social good. The prize is not simply greater efficiency. It is a more thoughtful, participatory and hopeful way of using technology in service of people and places. 

AI was deployed in the initial planning of this article, which was then developed and written by Sean Croghan, Chief Operating Officer at The Young Foundation, and Katherine Welch, Assistant Director at UCL Grand Challenges (Climate Crisis and Data Empowered Societies).

The Young Foundation and UCL are currently working towards a collaboration with social enterprises, responsible businesses, and research communities exploring AI for social benefit – while also updating and refining their own AI policies.  

Community needs and priorities Innovation and Investment Social innovation Systems change Posted on: 9 July 2026 Authors: Sean Croghan,