Exploring AI in Spain: How AI Tides Affects Impact Initiatives

Through the AI Tides train-the-trainer program, changemakers across Europe are learning not just how to use AI but how to experiment with it, challenge it, and apply it to real-world social and environmental problems.

The AI Tides program is a train-the-trainer initiative designed to empower 30 trainers from leading social economy organizations across 12 European countries. Its goal is to equip them with the skills and knowledge needed to train social entrepreneurs in their respective markets, helping them harness the power of AI to amplify their impact.

One of the participating organizations was Ashoka Spain, represented by Sara Alonso, Project Manager for Ashoka’s AI for Better program. Sara took part in AI Tides and is now actively training social entrepreneurs on how to leverage the transformative potential of AI to achieve their goals and scale their impact.

For Luz Martinez, Director of Communications and PR at Zubi Group, the training offered by Ashoka provided an opportunity to experiment, grow, and learn. Zubi Group is a group of impact companies aiming to solve social and environmental challenges, and Luz wanted to utilise AI tools to further Zubi’s impact. 

Recently, Sara and Luz discussed with Social Tides the impact of the AI Tides program on both the trainer and the trainee, from the value of experimenting with new tools to the importance of exchanging ideas and solutions across networks. 

AI Tides: learning and experimenting

Why did you apply to join the AI Tides program?

Luz: I joined because I wanted to explore how AI could support the social impact work we do at Zubi. The Ashoka program felt, for me, like a safe place to test ideas and understand what is really behind the hype. 

Sara: AI for Better is part of a big project, where we work at the intersection between social entrepreneurship and AI. We have different areas of work in the project: communication, ecosystemic debates and training. That’s why we joined the AI Tides program.

How did the training help you learn AI skills? How did it boost your organisation’s confidence to experiment more with AI?

Luz: The training gave me an understanding of the background and what’s behind AI. It’s always very interesting to understand what you’re doing. It was also interesting for me to explore with other people, sharing your hypothesis and your insecurities, your problems and your improvements. The possibility to share with people in a secure area helps you feel more confident about your progress, and it helps you to learn more relaxed and faster. Before the training, I could only give my support to two or three startups, and now I can give more support, so we multiply the impact.

What was your experiment about? What results have you seen?

Luz: I tried to build an assistant to support the communications team that helps us do these tasks for the startups. It’s still in progress, and I need more technical support to do what I had in mind. I think I was a little over the top in my expectations, so I need some more work on the project, but it was a good step, and it gave me lots of ideas about what other people are doing. With that assistant, we’re going to be able to help more startups quicker, because you know in the startup world, everything has to be done yesterday, so that’s something a human alone can’t do.

Sara: In the training, there are different levels of experience with AI. Luz was already familiar with it, but inside every cohort, there are people with different familiarity levels. I think that Luz was the first one to build an AI assistant, and now it’s getting more and more popular as time passes and the course goes on. I’m also amazed by the collaborative work, as people want to work together in experiments, learning from and with each other.

Using AI in real-world cases

How are you using AI within your organizations? 

Luz: We’re using Artificial Intelligence for our group’s learning & development, and this course has been part of this process, to accelerate our process, to learn how to use it and to use it in the right way. In our communications department, Artificial Intelligence has already become a key tool in our daily work. We use it to support content creation, to explore different messages and approaches, and to improve efficiency and analyze results. It’s not about replacing human creativity, it’s about amplifying. 

Sara: In Ashoka, we have used AI in two specific solutions: One is our recently launched Ashoka Learning Ecosystem Platform, in which we have been using AI when co-creating content with other stakeholders, so that the very training route shares the same verbal tone and simplified language. We’re also using it to co-pilot our identification of social entrepreneurs, which is one of our most important tasks at Ashoka.

Do you have any tips for other social entrepreneurs who are looking to experiment with Artificial Intelligence? 

Sara: In every training, we recommend that social entrepreneurs use AI with the challenges that they already have, not new ones. Every organization has different challenges, and we are sure that AI can help them improve or do the same thing in a more efficient way. It’s more like pushing them to explore, and we’re sure they’re gonna find themselves. We know it’s overwhelming at the beginning. There are many, many tools, but it’s not about being an expert on a tool, but being brave to explore and use what's best for you.

Luz: I will say that it’s important not to be afraid to play with Artificial Intelligence. At the beginning, it can be a little intimidating, assuming it is for tech experts, but it’s all about exploring how Artificial Intelligence can help you and just to play, learn, and adapt.

AI Tides: a snapshot from the training

Challenges and lessons in adopting AI

What has been your biggest challenge while using Artificial Intelligence? Do you have any fears, or did you face any obstacles throughout this journey? 

Luz: I think it’s a continuous challenge. You are learning all the time, and there are concerns about security as well as how it can affect the environment. But it’s a tool, and it’s important to help us improve and to focus on the important thing for us, which is making an impact. 

Sara: I totally agree with Luz. I think the challenge is being updated with everything that is going on so fast, while using it ethically and not damaging the environment. There are different ethical challenges when using it, so as an organization there are many things to decide and take into account while using it. 

Are there any funny moments that you had during your experimentation with AI?

Luz: It was funny sometimes to see some wrong answers. Sometimes AI makes more mistakes than I do; it's hallucinating, so that made me feel better, and it’s important to keep your eyes open to that. It’s nice to know that Artificial Intelligence has a lot of layers, like us. 

What inspires you about AI right now? Is there anything you’re excited to test next?

Luz: I’m excited to see how AI can help us get closer to people, how we can understand and translate the data into stories that people can understand better, so we can demonstrate how we’re making a positive impact. 

Sara: I agree with Luz about the impact. Working with social entrepreneurs, many times, I realise they don’t have enough resources. It’s really useful to have all of these tools that make them compete on the same level as other bigger organisations. So that their own impact and ideas can really grow and reach more beneficiaries.

Connections and Network Effects

Sara, for you and Ashoka, how did being part of this pan-European program help you connect with other organisations in the social economy? What did you learn or gain from these organisations?

Sara: I appreciate the training of the trainers part. It has the same effect as it has on people when they are in the course: we are similar organisations that work around the same mission, so it was super nice to come together! Aside from the training, even in all of the virtual coffees we’ve had, we’ve shared similar challenges. But it’s not just about the challenges: we share solutions, and these are the ones that really help, in my opinion. 

How has AI Tides helped your organisation support social entrepreneurs and increase the impact within the community? 

Sara: One of Ashoka’s biggest assets is our community. We’re connected to many social entrepreneurs and organisations, and thanks to this project, that community is even bigger, so that’s a big present for us. It’s not just being bigger, it’s sharing within the ecosystem. We’re spending at least 12 hours sharing the work, the challenges, and the dreams that we all have. This program is really aligned with our mission: a world where everyone is a changemaker, a world where everyone is powerful and contributes to change for the good of all.

A Ripple Effect of Change

Sara: There’s clearly a line of impact: AI Tides trains organisations that are connected with social entrepreneurs, as is the case with Luz, so the knowledge flows like a river, with many social entrepreneurs that have their own projects and their own impact, ending up in a big sea of opportunities.