A United Nations research institute created an AI refugee avatar

In a groundbreaking move at the intersection of technology and humanitarian efforts, a research institute affiliated with the United Nations has developed two AI-powered avatars aimed at raising global awareness and fostering empathy regarding the plight of refugees.

This innovative project, an experiment conducted by a class at the United Nations University Center for Policy Research (UNU-CPR), introduced two distinct AI agents: Amina, a fictional woman depicted as having fled Sudan and now living in a refugee camp in Chad, and Abdalla, a fictional soldier associated with Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF). These avatars were designed to allow users to engage in conversations on the experiment’s dedicated website, although some users, including our own assessment, reported encountering error messages during registration attempts.

Eduardo Albrecht, a Columbia University professor and senior fellow at UNU-CPR, clarified in an interview with 404 Media that the initiative was purely exploratory. He stated that he and his students were “just playing around with the concept” and that the project was not intended as a formal solution proposed by the UN.

While a working paper summarizing this research suggested that such avatars could potentially be utilized “to quickly make a case to donors” for humanitarian aid, the project also elicited significant ethical discussions. Feedback from many workshop attendees who interacted with the AI agents was notably critical, with some participants emphasizing that refugees “are very capable of speaking for themselves in real life.” This highlights the nuanced challenges and sensitivities involved in using AI to represent deeply human experiences.

This experimental deployment of AI avatars by a UN-affiliated body underscores the ongoing evolution of artificial intelligence and its potential, as well as its inherent complexities, in addressing global issues. As AI tools continue to advance, the balance between technological innovation and authentic human representation remains a critical consideration for organizations like ProAITools and the broader AI community.