United Nations University rolled out two AI avatars to educate about refugees. The avatars, named Amina and Abdalla, represent a Sudanese woman in a refugee camp and a Sudanese paramilitary soldier. The aim: to simulate conversations on refugee issues.
The launch followed an experiment at the UN University Center for Policy Research. Users can engage with the avatars on askamina.ai, though registration errors were reported. Eduardo Albrecht, Columbia professor and UNU-CPR senior fellow, said the project was "just playing around with the concept," not a formal UN solution.
A paper on the project hints at using these avatars to convince donors faster. However, many users pushed back, arguing refugees can speak for themselves in real life. 
Eduardo Albrecht stated:
"just playing around with the concept" and not proposing this as a solution for the UN.
