Good, actionable information is hard to get. Harder to interpret. And to be genuinely useful it must be presented in a form that works for advocates, opinion-formers and decision-makers at every level.
Ai works to bridge the gap between information and action.
There exist vast amounts of data and evidence, yet too often good information is out of the reach of the people who need it most. People who can use the evidence to make their case in the court of public opinion, change hearts and minds, and influence decision-makers and policy.
Increasingly, multiple fields of evidence are needed to support a case. Take health issues as an example – to be effective, advocates for health reform not only require their country’s health metrics, but also comparative country health metrics, data on government spending at local and national levels, comparative country budgets, commodities and equipment costs, demographic data, etc.
Information and data “silos” should be open to the public, especially when they are funded by tax-payers (World Bank..!)
Thomas Clarkson and the Slave Ship “Brookes”
One of our favorite examples of the power of visual information remains the work of the granddaddy of all public advocacy: Thomas Clarkson – the leader (if not always the spokesperson) of the British anti-slavery campaign.
As Tom Lubbock has argued, Clarkson’s diagram “Stowage of the British Slave Ship “Brookes” Under the Regulated Slave Trade” below is:
“…a landmark in the understanding of visual propaganda. It manages to communicate, at a glance, an incontestable evil. It could carry its message into the minds of those who weren’t willing or able to read the committee’s carefully mustered petitions and witness statements.”
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