L’adoption et l’utilisation de l’IA dans l’économie sociale et l’action communautaire

Despite AI’s potential to significantly improve how organizations involved in the social economy and community action (ÉSAC, from the French économie sociale et action communautaire) use their limited resources to carry out their important mission, their adoption of AI has been slow because of the constraints they face. This article analyzes the use of AI in Quebec’s ÉSAC sector, which comprises cooperatives, membership organizations, nonprofits, and community action organizations. We conducted 27 semi-structured interviews with three distinct groups of professionals: managers, counsellors, and trainers. Of these participants, 25 work for ÉSAC organizations, and two are external IT trainers who intervened in ÉSAC entities. Drawing on a research framework based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) adapted to AI, we used thematic analysis to identify the factors influencing the adoption and use of AI within the participating organizations. We grouped the identified factors under the four dimensions of the SWOT strategic analysis tool: strengths and weaknesses within the organization, opportunities for improvement, and potential threats to be mitigated.