A United Nations research institute created an AI refugee avatar


A research institute connected to the United Nations has created two AI-powered avatars designed to teach people about refugee issues.

404 Media wrote about an experiment conducted by a class at the United Nations University Center for Policy Research that resulted in the creation of two AI agents or avatars — Amina, a fictional woman who fled Sudan and is living in a refugee camp in Chad, and Abdalla, a fictional soldier with the Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary force in Sudan.

Users are supposed to be able to talk to Amina and Abdalla on the experiment’s website, though I received an error message when I tried to register on Saturday afternoon.

Eduardo Albrecht, a Columbia professor and a senior fellow at the UNU-CPR, told 404 Media that he and his students were “just playing around with the concept” and not proposing this as a solution for the UN.

A paper summarizing this work suggested that these avatars could eventually be used “to quickly make a case to donors.” However, it also noted that many workshop attendees who interacted with the agents responded negatively, for example saying that refugees “are very capable of speaking for themselves in real life.”



  • Related Posts

    Co-founder of Elon Musk’s xAI departs the company
    • August 13, 2025

    Igor Babuschkin, a co-founder of Elon Musk’s xAI startup, announced his departure from the company on Wednesday in a post on X. Babuschkin led engineering teams at xAI and helped…

    Continue reading
    StubHub is once again working on its IPO that could raise $1B
    • August 12, 2025

    StubHub is giving a strong indication that its IPO is back on again. It filed a public S-1 in late March, then paused in April after the Trump administration’s tariffs…

    Continue reading

    Random News

    Gloria Gaynor serenades CBS News' Jim Axelrod

    • By gonews
    • August 13, 2025
    • 0 views

    Co-founder of Elon Musk’s xAI departs the company

    • By gonews
    • August 13, 2025
    • 0 views
    Co-founder of Elon Musk’s xAI departs the company

    2025 Pittsburgh Steelers Season Preview; Bracket Banter Podcast 

    • By gonews
    • August 13, 2025
    • 0 views
    2025 Pittsburgh Steelers Season Preview; Bracket Banter Podcast 

    مباراة كأس السوبر الأوروبي تشهد تضامنًا مع غزة ودعوة لوقف الإبادة الإسرائيلية

    • By gonews
    • August 13, 2025
    • 0 views
    مباراة كأس السوبر الأوروبي تشهد تضامنًا مع غزة ودعوة لوقف الإبادة الإسرائيلية