Neeti Shukla, co-founder and Chief Social Impact Officer at Automation Anywhere, believes that artificial intelligence (AI) is a powerful tool for social good when used to empower people. Her approach integrates social impact directly with technological expertise, focusing on bringing AI and automation to nonprofits, workforce reskilling and upskilling, and community give-back programs.
Automation Anywhere has partnered with organizations like Akshaya Patra, which serves 2.4 million school lunches daily in India, to automate operational processes such as donor reconciliation, fleet management, and vendor coordination. This partnership has enabled Akshaya Patra to set a goal of serving five million meals daily within five years.
The company has also made its training curriculum and community edition of software available for free, training approximately 40,000 people through social impact programs. They work with 120 colleges in India through academic partnerships, emphasizing the importance of reskilling and upskilling in the digital era.
Automation Anywhere encourages employee community engagement, providing opportunities for individuals from diverse backgrounds to transition into tech jobs. For instance, they've trained individuals who went from flipping burgers to securing $120,000 tech jobs in three to six months.
Shukla emphasizes that technology's primary purpose is human enablement, not replacement. By leveraging AI responsibly and ethically, we can create a future where humans and machines work together harmoniously. According to Shukla, "If we are able to help reskill and upskill the workforce in India... then they can actually give skill-based services versus just manual services." This approach has impacted 500,000 people to date through various initiatives.
