AI could help scale humanitarian responses. But it could also have big downsides

The refugee organization, the International Rescue Committee, is testing some artificial intelligence tools to try to increase the number of displaced people they can reach with critical information. The number of refugees has dramatically increased in the past decade, and at the same time, humanitarian organizations are facing enormous funding shortfalls. The turn to artificial intelligence technologies is driven by this massive gap between needs and resources. The IRC is testing a network of AI chatbots to try to increase the capacity of their humanitarian officers. They also want to extend the technical infrastructure that they've built to other organizations at no cost.