Dirty data, greed for profit, and a lack of diversity in the tech sector: There are many reasons why algorithms discriminate. But lawyers, regulators and, most importantly, critical techies have begun to push back against AI’s destructive potential. Will human intelligence win?

Until recently, the only people who came into Jomi Pacharin’s remote mountain village were vendors and debtors. Doctors, teachers and government officials never set their foot here, they find the trail too arduous; hence many Paharia die from malnutrition and preventable diseases. When local helpers of the German NGO Welthungerhilfe first came to their village, Jomi and her neighbors stayed inside, full of suspicion – until they realized that these strangers would not take their belongings but offer something.

Indian fishermen and Burundian farmers have one thing in common: As poorest among the poor they are not responsible for climate change; yet they are the first who live with its consequences. In both countries, the weather has been diverting from its usual pattern for a decade. Welthungerhilfe trains fishermen and farmers to take precautions.

The German NGO Welthungerhilfe has chosen a picture I took in India for this year’s christmas card. I would love to tell you that this family is as merry as it seems here, but while we were joking with the adults, the children’s faces tell the real story. Like most inhabitats of the coastal Sundarbans area, this family is terrified by the increasingly strong cyclones that hit their homes. The last one killed thousands in their area, turned many of their neighbors into climate refugees and left this family traumatized. I often think about them and hope they are well.

The security risks for aid workers living and working abroad have risen hugely in the last few years. In an interview, security expert Josef Frei explains which strategies Welthungerhilfe is using so that, wherever possible, staff do not run into danger.