The Serve AI initiative, funded by the New Venture Fund under the Public Interest Technology University Network (PIT-UN), is a prominent project within Indiana University’s Laurie Burns McRobbie Serve IT Clinic. By embedding generative Artificial Intelligence methodologies into existing civic engagement frameworks, Serve AI opened new, responsible technology adoption pathways for both local nonprofits and student participants. The project particularly focused on utilizing Artificial Intelligence to streamline operations such as grant-writing and social media workflows, directly supporting community partners while giving students valuable experiential learning opportunities.
Fifteen students were employed to create and implement technically innovative, Artificial Intelligence-driven solutions through direct collaboration with nonprofit organizations. Key projects included the development of accessibility-focused tools such as ‘Blindness Accessibility CustomGPT’ and ‘Deafness Accessibility CustomGPT,’ which are designed to analyze websites for accessibility shortcomings and provide actionable improvement suggestions. Additional resources created include best practice guides covering prompt engineering, social media automation, and ethical Artificial Intelligence considerations. These outputs serve dual purposes: improving the digital infrastructure of local organizations and nurturing a new generation of professionals dedicated to ethical technology and inclusive design.
Among Serve AI’s flagship endeavors was a partnership with Canopy Bloomington, which produced a mobile application for urban forest management. Volunteers can scan tree QR codes to monitor care and report health data, with the platform adaptable to other nonprofit resource tracking scenarios. Another highlight, the ‘Think Island’ interactive learning platform, aims to build problem-solving and ethical skills in K-12 students through artificial intelligence-powered scenarios. All code and educational materials generated by Serve AI are distributed under the Creative Commons CC BY-SA 4.0 license, ensuring open access and community contribution. The initiative not only equips students for careers in public interest technology but also serves as a scalable model for universities seeking to align generative Artificial Intelligence with community impact, ethics, and experiential education.
