Humanitarian technology initiative

Humanity,
connected.

Digital Cross is exploring how responsible artificial intelligence, secure digital systems and institutional memory can strengthen humanitarian action.

Mission

Technology in service of humanitarian action.

Humanitarian organisations work in environments where information is fragmented, teams change frequently and critical knowledge can disappear. Digital Cross begins with a simple question: how can today's technology help humanitarian organisations remember better, understand faster and coordinate more effectively — while keeping people in control?

Initial focus

Start with the problems that never really went away.

The first Digital Cross work is focused on information, institutional memory and responsible digital assistance rather than replacing the people who make humanitarian decisions.

1

Institutional Memory

Preserve reports, decisions, correspondence and operational knowledge with context, provenance and long-term accessibility.

2

Humanitarian Coordination

Connect trusted information from people, operations and external sources into a clearer shared operational picture.

3

Responsible AI Agents

Use specialist digital agents to organise, retrieve and analyse information while important actions remain subject to human judgement.

First Digital Cross agent

Archivist.

Our first experiment is an institutional-memory agent designed to help humanitarian organisations preserve and rediscover what they already know.

Archivist is being designed to classify documents, connect decisions with their supporting records, preserve provenance and retrieve knowledge using natural language — without silently rewriting the historical record.

Digital Cross / Agent 01

Archivist

Preserve. Organise. Connect. Retrieve.

The authoritative archive remains the record. The AI acts as its librarian, researcher and guide.

Design principles

Human control first.

Technology used in humanitarian environments must earn trust. Digital Cross is therefore being developed around a small number of non-negotiable principles.

Human responsibility.
People remain accountable for consequential decisions.
Minimum necessary access.
Agents should only see and do what their role requires.
Provenance over invention.
Records and sources should remain traceable and distinguishable from AI interpretation.
Security and privacy by design.
Sensitive humanitarian information requires deliberate technical and organisational safeguards.
Project status

At the beginning.

Digital Cross is currently in concept and prototype development.

The first working Digital Cross agent, Archivist, is being used to explore institutional memory and document-management architecture. The project will grow only around problems that demonstrate genuine humanitarian value.