Experts Stress Human-AI Integration to Boost Impact Businesses in Brazil

A recent webinar highlighted the critical role human elements play alongside artificial intelligence (AI) in socio-environmental impact businesses and NGOs. Experts from Fundação Dom Cabral (FDC) and leading social entrepreneurs emphasized that AI's potential for scalability and productivity must not come at the expense of human interaction, which remains central in these initiatives.

Ana Burcharth, an innovation professor, and Miriã de Aguiar Melo, FDC's entrepreneurship director, shared insights on AI adoption challenges and successes. Data from a 2025 Canal Sabiar and Instituto Beja study revealed uneven AI adoption across social movements, with only 10% exhibiting high use, while impact businesses (35%) and family institutes (33%) have integrated AI more effectively, mainly in communication and content creation.

Participants underscored that AI cannot replace the human touch essential for authentic storytelling and nuanced understanding of beneficiaries. Karen Worcman, founder of Museu da Pessoa, noted AI's inability to capture lived experience's emotional depth. Instead, the strategic use of AI, including synthetic personas, can enhance assessment and support.

A notable example is Decola, a digital mentor developed by FDC, which provides on-demand practical guidance in sales, finance, and marketing for entrepreneurs. Melo highlighted how Decola helps overcome mentorship limitations due to time constraints, offering instantaneous responses within 30 seconds that foster inclusive learning even for less literate users.

This webinar, titled 'How Generative Artificial Intelligence Can Enhance the Impact of a Social Business,' builds on Folha’s community efforts to explore technology's role in the third sector, advocating AI-human synergy for greater impact and scalability.