Newcastle’s hedgehog lab has assisted in the design and build of the digital platform Akord AI, the ‘world’s first AI-powered co-pilot for peacebuilders,’ with a mission to democratise peacebuilding expertise by providing civic actors and everyday citizens with access to the insights, knowledge, and tools to build peace.
Offically launching today, Akord AI, the brainchild of US firm Conflict Dynamics International (CDI), will initially focus on supporting civic actors working to resolve the conflict and build peace in Sudan, but has plans to roll out globally.
With 56 ongoing conflicts worldwide – the highest number since World War II – the need for effective peacebuilding is more urgent than ever. An estimated 117.3m people have been forcibly displaced as a result of conflicts and violence, and in 2023 there were 162,000 conflict-related deaths.
The war in Sudan is one of the worst conflicts globally, causing the largest displacement crisis with up to 12m people forced to flee their homes.
In response, civic actors, including civil society organisations, women’s groups, youth movements, political parties, and everyday citizens, are mobilising to resolve conflict and build peace. In Sudan, for example, civil society has played a leading role in delivering humanitarian aid, spearheading peace initiatives and mediation efforts, and developing a vision for a peaceful, prosperous future. Akord AI is built for them.
People engaged in peacebuilding often face significant challenges in their work. These include a lack of access to relevant and accurate information, to research capabilities, to technical drafting skills, and to creative space. When resources are available, they are often held close by a few.
Akord AI addresses these challenges by providing civic actors with a custom-trained AI assistant designed to help with research, answer technical questions, and explore creative approaches to dialogue, mediation, governance, and peacebuilding. The platform is equally relevant to international and regional mediators.
Akord AI combines these AI-powered insights with access to an expanding digital library of peacebuilding resources and country-specific expertise, including previous ceasefire agreements, constitutional documents, and peace agreements. To ensure transparency and the verifiability of answers, Akord AI provides automatic citations. In addition, users can upload, analyse, and summarise their own documents. The platform is available in both Arabic and English.
“Akord AI is one of the most inspiring projects that we’ve ever worked on,” says Sarat Pediredla, CEO at hedgehog lab. “We were hugely honoured when CDI selected us to help build the platform and contribute to such an important initiative. We look forward to continuing our work with CDI to grow and enhance the platform, particularly through the development of new features and improvement of its AI capabilities.”
Gerard Mc Hugh, founder and president at CDI, added: “Akord AI addresses an important gap that we have seen time and again; it provides those working for peace with vital tools and data. We believe that this platform will democratise access to essential peacebuilding resources and foster more inclusive, sustainable approaches for peace. It’s a game changer for peacebuilders.”
As part of its launch, Akord AI is already being used by a team of peacebuilders in Sudan. Following its official global launch, the tool will expand to support peace initiatives in many other contexts including Somalia, Syria, Libya, Yemen, and Congo.
