A United Nations research institute has created two AI-operated avatars designed to teach people about refugee issues.
The 404 media wrote about an experiment done by a class for the United Nations University Center, resulting in the creation of two AI agents or avatars – Amina, a fictional woman who ran away from Sudan and living in a refugee camp in Chad, and Abdullah, a fantasy soldier with a fast aid forces, a pompous soldier in Sudan.
Users should be able to talk to Amina and Abdullah on the experiment website, although I found an error message when I tried to register on Saturday afternoon.
Eduardo Albrect, Professor and a senior partner at Columbia, told 404 media that he and his students were “just playing with the concept” and were not proposed as a solution to the United Nations.
A paper that summarizes this work suggested that these avatars may eventually be used “to make donors a case”. However, it was also noted that many workshop attendees interacted with agents, who respond negatively, for example, saying that refugees are “very capable of speaking for themselves in real life.”
