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From advances in artificial intelligence and robotics to new ways to reduce emissions, new technological developments provide fertile ground for transformative impacts on all kinds of industries.
This is also true at the intersection of disaster preparedness and climate resilience. An expert in this field, Elizabeth Peteo (EMBA ’14) has been working in this field for the past 20 years. From her practical experience responding on the ground to devastating global crises to her training in evidence-based management practices at MIT Sloan, she has focused on how to best apply and combine technical expertise with real-world uses and impacts.
Elizabeth Peteo, EMBA ’14
Now a senior principal at Miyamoto International, a global engineering and humanitarian aid firm, Peteo collaborates with experts across disciplines to explore new approaches to risk management and preparedness. Though technology advances rapidly, Peteo remains focused on the human-technology interface to deliver impact.
“Technology touches everything we do, so it’s important to rethink our work and processes with an informed perspective, thinking about where we want to go, what we want to create, and building in strong judgment to articulate why this will benefit the greater good,” Peteo says.
“Those conversations lead to a roadmap that is contextual and purpose-driven,” she adds. “We remain guides to navigate these professional changes. With the support of these advancements, we need to focus on how to expand what we can do so we can do better.”
Three principles to help you stay focused on impact
To say there is a lot of “hype” around AI right now, particularly generative AI and the large-scale language models (LLMs) that underpin it, would be an understatement. Adoption of these innovations is trending from big tech companies and well-funded startups to less tech-savvy businesses.
Peteo believes the potential impact of these technologies is significant, and reaffirms the importance of stewardship principles and an outcomes-driven focus when determining their best use in development and aid contexts. “The reaction tends to be to jump on the latest technological development or tool, rather than starting with the challenge, the situation and the need,” she says.
From a practitioner’s perspective, Peteo highlights some core management principles that can be applied across a range of sectors:
Stay focused on the problem you are trying to solve. A good understanding of the problem and the operating context can create opportunities but also highlight constraints. Organizationally, spending time to define this will provide new insights. Build awareness and understanding. Integrating new ways of working is often about supporting a broader change in mindset and culture. It is therefore important to also spend time building awareness of why change is needed. In the context of response preparedness and resilience, Peteo points out that this is often the most difficult part. Build awareness and urgency upstream to prioritize conversations about change while simultaneously building momentum for the scope of the new approach. Encourage systems thinking when operationalizing new tools. Understanding the introduction or adoption of technology as part of a system is important to keep in mind to mainstream its effectiveness in the long term.
“I’ve seen this in disaster resilience work around the world. No single intervention is enough – be it a strengthened built environment or policy environment, or operational training or tools to change the way your teams think and behave. All of these work together to drive a new culture. That’s when we can start having informed conversations about the right strategies and new ways of thinking that will have a positive impact,” she says.
Peteo also points out that the most successful models at country and project level are where there are leadership roles that focus on “translation” and integration. This means having people with skills and scope across both the “old” and the “new” in place to drive the process forward.
“Having key people in place who can capture, interpret and accelerate new thinking and action, and more effectively bridge existing and emerging ones, is essential to avoid siloing efforts and foster co-creation,” she says.
Peteo speaks at an Economist Impact event on resilience in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
A more hopeful and informed lens
Generative AI and other promising new technologies will undoubtedly change the world. They’re already changing it. “We would be amazed now if we could only know what each of us would be capable of in 10 or 20 years,” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said during a campus visit in May.
Peteo agrees, noting that it’s impossible to predict what the next decade of technological advances will bring.
“To reap these benefits, we must continue to change and learn new approaches. This applies not only to companies and governments, but also to international organizations working in the fields of development and aid.”
“To be successful, you need continued curiosity and the ability to ‘make connections’ between seemingly disparate ideas. It’s critical to shape the ever-changing human-technology interface and work to best leverage human strengths and skills together with those of emerging technologies to make the biggest impact on real lives and livelihoods,” she says.
