Upcycling and Upskilling With AI: Goodwill’s Steve Preston

Many of us know Goodwill Industries International as a retailer that accepts and resells donated goods. What the average consumer may not know is that the nonprofit takes in over 5 billion pounds of goods each year — and not all of it can be resold. For those unwanted or unviable items, the organization can either look into recycling or upcycling, and with the help of AI, it’s able to efficiently make that determination while also improving its process for sorting and allocating sellable goods for different retail channels.

Additionally, Goodwill helps its workforce with career development skills. Much of this training has been enhanced with AI. Tune in to this episode to hear directly from Goodwill CEO Steve Preston about how the organization is using technology to fulfill a mission that extends beyond the retail store.

https://sloanreview.mit.edu/audio/upcycling-and-upskilling-with-ai-goodwills-steve-preston/