AI-powered assistant for refugees launches

Presentations for AI assistants that can help you send emails or create presentations may seem outdated, but what about a presentation designed to help new immigrants navigate the United States? What about a digital assistant that can connect a person to urgent social services or simply help them feel supported in a foreign environment? That’s what ALMA, a new virtual assistant designed by the International Rescue Committee (IRC), a nonprofit organization, is designed to do.

ALMAwhich stands for “AI for Life Mapping Assistance,” was built internally by several IRC teams and their clients, modeled after a digital learning tool known as aprendIA. It draws on an extensive library of IRC resources (standard client documents, staff training resources, and information offered by trusted external organizations) to provide specialized assistance to refugees, special immigration visa holders, and others.

Most notably, ALMA is based on WhatsApp, one of the leading communications platforms for immigrant communities nationwide, including those served by the IRC. It is also a growing site for alternative non-English information resources and local organization. Those in need simply send an SMS to ALMA’s number (+1 619-658-5100) to get instant help.

“We wanted to make sure customers had a way to get reliable answers and resources 24/7,” said Tara Catanach, ALMA designer and IRC project director for virtual onboarding and placement. Catanach explained that, unlike popular chatbot companions marketed by major players in the field, ALMA is not designed to constantly interact with a client – ​​the type of chatbot codependency that is currently causing concern among mental health professionals.

Instead, ALMA is designed as an emergency response tool with very specific use cases in mind: someone new to the United States needs help finding their benefits or social services nearby. They want to know how to apply for housing or the best way to talk to their landlord. They can ask to play a typical job interview or get an overview of their rights.

“It’s easy to call ALMA a virtual social worker, but ALMA does not replace any of the work our offices do,” Catanach said.

ALMA doesn’t use LLMs for core content, IRC explains, but to personalize responses. For now, it leverages OpenAI’s GPT 4.1 and GPT 4.1 mini, but the organization explains that ALMA can run on any model. It is also structured with safeguards that direct conversations about mental health, abuse or domestic violence to other organizations or to IRC staff.

ALMA can also access the Internet if an individual’s requests are outside its scope, but it defaults to what Catanach describes as static information pools, evergreen resources that are unlikely to spread misinformation or hallucinatory facts, like other AI-powered search engines.

Unlike a service like ChatGPT, for example, “ALMA knows who our users are,” Catanach said. “They’re learning English. They’re new to the United States. The client doesn’t need to go through coaching to get the information they need.”

Across the United States, immigrant and refugee populations have been forced to navigate an increasingly complicated and hostile political environment. The Trump administration has taken a hard line on immigration, including removing special visa statuses and suspending visas. Refugee Admissions Program. Many fear detention, deportation and monitoring as entry guidelines are rewritten by federal leaders.

Meanwhile, social platforms and Big Tech executives have moved closer to the administration, including WhatsApp parent company Meta. Recent changes to the platform’s advertising policy sounded the alarm among privacy experts, as well as investigations that found Trump officials including ICE Agentsused the application for surveillance operations. WhatsApp is known for exacerbate disinformation when the rumors circulating are not controlled.

Yet ALMA is hosted on WhatsApp because that’s where people in need actually are and where they already have support systems in place, instead of a separate website or app.

WhatsApp also recently vowed to alert users of government spyware. User messages are end-to-end encrypted by default, but ALMA collects phone numbers and other WhatsApp profile information for IRC research, Catanach told Mashable. The AI ​​is responsible for telling users not to share identifiable information, like their home addresses, or even their immigration status, unless they are comfortable with it. Legal advice — including questions about green cards or ever-changing visa policies — is also off-limits to the virtual assistant, which directs users to outside sources if they need help with their case.

ALMA was first launched in Dari/Farsi, English, Spanish and Swahili, the most widely used languages ​​among IRC customers. Catanach says they are testing ALMA’s capabilities in 10 additional languages ​​for future updates and are looking to add new topics such as healthcare and education to ALMA’s knowledge base. We hope it will also get an accessibility upgrade, like the ability to send voice notes.

IRC hopes to reach 100,000 users in ALMA’s first year. “Our goal is to get ALMA back into the hands of those who could benefit from its support.”