Friends of the Earth
OctopAI– AI Assistant for Empathetic Support
Mission
Friends of the Earth is the world's largest grassroots environmental campaigning organization, committed to tackling the climate and nature crisis.
Through the Money Movers programme, they empower groups of friends, neighbours and colleagues to make climate-positive financial choices, helping participants understand the impact of their personal finances on the planet and move their money towards greener options.
Problem Statement
The Money Movers programme is impactful, but there are barriers to scaling. It’s expensive to train hosts, who often feel anxious about managing group discussions. Participants also sometimes struggle with financial jargon or lack confidence in their financial knowledge.
To address these challenges, Friends of the Earth wants to create OctopAI, an empathetic AI assistant, to support hosts in leading these sessions and fostering understanding and connection between participants. The AI would provide prompts, signpost to approved resources, and offer guidance, helping the programme scale while maintaining its peer-led ethos.
What success looks like
Empowered hosts
Hosts feel supported and confident to run Money Movers groups, expanding the programme’s reach.
Streamlined facilitation
OctopAI helps hosts manage discussions, offer nudges, and ensure all participants are engaged and heard.
Increased participation
More people join Money Movers sessions, building on existing expertise for people underserved by finance e.g women and non-binary people, leading to greater climate-positive financial action.
Actionable results
Significant amount of participants switch current accounts, pensions or insurance to greener options, driving positive environmental impact.
Skills & Techniques Required
This project will incorporate the following skills:
Natural Language Processing (NLP)
To ensure OctopAI can understand and respond empathetically to conversations.
Conversational AI Development
For OctopAI’s ability to guide discussions, offer prompts, and signpost resources.
User Experience Design (UX)
To create a supportive and accessible interface that empowers hosts.
Climate Finance Expertise
To ensure the assistant provides accurate, up-to-date signposting to resources. Money Movers never gives financial advice.
Skills We're Looking for from Mentors
NLP and AI systems
Conversational UX design
Climate finance and ethical investing
Coaching and facilitation skills
About the AI for All Buildathon
On November 22-23, 2024, at People’s Mission Hall, Whitechapel, we’re bringing together charities, AI experts, and students to develop impactful AI tools that charities can use to drive social change.
42 London
42 London’s peer-learning model focuses on equipping students with the skills to tackle real-world challenges. By working on Third and Public Sector projects, students gain advanced technical skills, learn to solve complex problems, collaborate with diverse stakeholders, and create impactful solutions—preparing them to excel as skilled engineers and socially conscious innovators.
Our Partners:
Anthropic
Users are able to engage with self-study material, even if they struggle with reading, by using speech recognition and an intuitive interface that guides them step-by-step.
La Fosse Academy
The AI tool encourages continued learning through motivational prompts, feedback, and support, helping users remain committed to their literacy journey
LIS
A simple, Minimum Viable Product (MVP) that demonstrates the speech recognition feature, allowing users to engage with basic learning modules and progress on their own.
X and Why
A product that can grow with the learners, with potential for further modules and content expansion, especially as new sources of funding are secured.
Mentors & Supporters:
Graphcore, Polecat: Providing expert mentorship to help teams build impactful, responsible and technically sound AI solutions aligned with charitable strategic goals.
Join us!
Be part of a buildathon that merges tech innovation with social impact, where your expertise will help shape AI solutions that make a real difference.
Join a community of changemakers, gain hands-on experience, and inspire the next generation of socially conscious engineers.