US Tech Corps Deploys AI Volunteers Worldwide

Another describes volunteers working with a country's ministry of education to "identify gaps in student, teacher, and parent services where AI education tools could be most impactful." Kelsey Quinn, a project lead and analyst of tech sovereignty and security at the New Lines Institute, tells The Verge that while "it's not entirely unusual for the Peace Corps to wade into the field of technology," it's the "commercial structure" of the Tech Corps that's different. "This program deploys volunteers to support specific adoption of American AI products that countries have purchased, not just generally increase digital literacy as a skill," Quinn says. Some of the Peace Corps' previous tech initiatives have involved teaching STEM skills to girls in Zambia, Thailand, and Albania, as well as offering communication technology training in Vanuatu.

But the Tech Corps ties its aid directly to the American AI systems procured by developing countries, as the program's launch date hinges on the first sales made through the American AI Exports Program, according to its website. Just like the American AI Exports Program, the Tech Corps just seems like another boon to the AI industry.