TED Residency
Muhammed Idris: What refugees need to start new lives
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Every minute, 20 people are newly displaced by climate change, economic crisis and political instability, according to the UNHCR. How can we help them overcome the barriers to starting new lives? TED Resident Muhammed Idris is leading a team of technologists, researchers and refugees to develop Atar, the first-ever AI-powered virtual advocate that guides displaced people through resettlement, helping restore their rights and dignity. "Getting access to the right resources and information can be the difference between life and death," Idris says.
Muhammed Idris - Entrepreneur, investor
Muhammed Idris wants to improve social services delivery through collective and artificial intelligence. Full bio
Muhammed Idris wants to improve social services delivery through collective and artificial intelligence. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
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About two years ago,
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I got a phone call that changed my life.
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"Hey, this is your cousin Hassen."
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I froze.
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You see, I have well over
30 first cousins,
30 first cousins,
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but I didn't know anybody named Hassen.
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It turned out that Hassen
was actually my mom's cousin
was actually my mom's cousin
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and had just arrived
in Montreal as a refugee.
in Montreal as a refugee.
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And over the next few months,
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I would have three more relatives
coming to Canada to apply for asylum
coming to Canada to apply for asylum
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with little more than
the clothes on their back.
the clothes on their back.
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And in the two years
since that phone call,
since that phone call,
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my life has completely changed.
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I left academia
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and now lead a diverse team
of technologists, researchers and refugees
of technologists, researchers and refugees
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that is developing customized
self-help resources for newcomers.
self-help resources for newcomers.
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We want to help them overcome
language, cultural and other barriers
language, cultural and other barriers
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that make them feel like they've lost
control over their own lives.
control over their own lives.
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And we feel that AI can help restore
the rights and the dignity
the rights and the dignity
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that many people lose when seeking help.
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My family's refugee experience
is not unique.
is not unique.
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According to the UNHCR,
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every minute, 20 people
are newly displaced
are newly displaced
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by climate change, economic crisis
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and social and political instability.
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And it was while volunteering
at a local YMCA shelter
at a local YMCA shelter
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that my cousin Hassen
and other relatives were sent to
and other relatives were sent to
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that we saw and learned to appreciate
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how much effort and coordination
resettlement requires.
resettlement requires.
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When you first arrive,
you need to find a lawyer
you need to find a lawyer
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and fill out legal documents
within two weeks.
within two weeks.
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You also need to schedule a medical exam
with a pre-authorized physician,
with a pre-authorized physician,
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just so that you can apply
for a work permit.
for a work permit.
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And you need to start looking
for a place to live
for a place to live
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before you receive
any sort of social assistance.
any sort of social assistance.
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With thousands fleeing the United States
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to seek asylum in Canada
over the past few years,
over the past few years,
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we quickly saw what it looks like
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when there are more people who need help
than there are resources to help them.
than there are resources to help them.
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Social services doesn't scale quickly,
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and even if communities do their best
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to help more people
with limited resources,
with limited resources,
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newcomers end up spending
more time waiting in limbo,
more time waiting in limbo,
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not knowing where to turn.
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In Montreal, for example,
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despite millions of dollars being spent
to support resettlement efforts,
to support resettlement efforts,
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nearly 50 percent of newcomers
still don't know
still don't know
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that there are free resources that exist
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to help them with everything
from filling out paperwork
from filling out paperwork
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to finding a job.
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The challenge is not
that this information doesn't exist.
that this information doesn't exist.
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On the contrary, those in need are often
bombarded with so much information
bombarded with so much information
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that it's difficult
to make sense of it all.
to make sense of it all.
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"Don't give me more information,
just tell me what to do,"
just tell me what to do,"
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was a sentiment we heard
over and over again.
over and over again.
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And it reflects how insanely difficult
it could be to get your bearings
it could be to get your bearings
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when you first arrive in a new country.
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Hell, I struggled with the same issues
when I got to Montreal,
when I got to Montreal,
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and I have a PhD.
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(Laughter)
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As another member of our team,
himself also a refugee, put it:
himself also a refugee, put it:
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"In Canada, a SIM card
is more important than food,
is more important than food,
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because we will not die from hunger."
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But getting access to the right
resources and information
resources and information
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can be the difference
between life and death.
between life and death.
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Let me say that again:
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getting access to the right
resources and information
resources and information
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can be the difference
between life and death.
between life and death.
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In order to address these issues,
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we built Atar,
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the first-ever AI-powered virtual advocate
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that guides you step-by-step
through your first week
through your first week
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of arriving in a new city.
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Just tell Atar what you need help with.
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Atar will then ask you
some basic questions
some basic questions
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to understand your unique circumstances
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and determine your eligibility
for resources.
for resources.
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For example: Do you have
a place to stay tonight?
a place to stay tonight?
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If not, would you prefer
an all-women's shelter?
an all-women's shelter?
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Do you have children?
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Atar will then generate
a custom, step-by-step to-do list
a custom, step-by-step to-do list
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that tells you everything
that you need to know,
that you need to know,
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from where to go, how to get there,
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what to bring with you
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and what to expect.
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You can ask a question at any time,
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and if Atar doesn't have an answer,
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you'll be connected
with a real person who does.
with a real person who does.
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But what's most exciting
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is that we help humanitarian
and service organizations
and service organizations
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collect the data and the analytics
that's necessary to understand
that's necessary to understand
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the changing needs of newcomers
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in real time.
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That's a game changer.
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We've already partnered with the UNHCR
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to provide this technology in Canada,
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and in our work have conducted
campaigns in Arabic, English,
campaigns in Arabic, English,
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French, Creole and Spanish.
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When we talk about the issue of refugees,
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we often focus on the official statistic
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of 65.8 million forcibly
displaced worldwide.
displaced worldwide.
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But the reality is much greater than that.
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By 2050, there will be
an additional 140 million people
an additional 140 million people
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who are at risk of being displaced
due to environmental degradation.
due to environmental degradation.
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And today -- that is today --
there are nearly one billion people
there are nearly one billion people
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who already live in illegal
settlements and slums.
settlements and slums.
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Resettlement and integration
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is one of the greatest
challenges of our time.
challenges of our time.
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and our hope is that Atar can provide
every single newcomer an advocate.
every single newcomer an advocate.
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Our hope is that Atar
can amplify existing efforts
can amplify existing efforts
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and alleviate pressure
on a social safety net
on a social safety net
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that's already stretched
beyond imagination.
beyond imagination.
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But what's most important to us
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is that our work helps restore
the rights and the dignity
the rights and the dignity
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that refugees lose throughout
resettlement and integration
resettlement and integration
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by giving them the resources that
they need in order to help themselves.
they need in order to help themselves.
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Thank you.
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(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Muhammed Idris - Entrepreneur, investorMuhammed Idris wants to improve social services delivery through collective and artificial intelligence.
Why you should listen
Dr. Muhammed Y. Idris, PhD is a Fellow at Capria, a leading global impact investment firm, and the cofounder and lead developer of Edel Technologies, an organization that build AI-powered tools and products for frontline humanitarian organizations and service providers, including the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR).
Inspired by own personal experiences with refugee resettlement, Idris left academia to build the world's first virtual advocate bot, Atar, that empowers refugees and other newcomers with information about what to do, where to go and what to expect using customized step-by-step guides.
Trained as a computational social scientist, Idris started his career in finance at BlackRock and went on to complete a PhD with a focus on research and development of open-source tools for leveraging socially-generating "big data" and make it easy to digest this complex technical information into actionable insights.
Idris's work has been presented at numerous academic, policy and industry conferences, and he has held teaching and research positions at the University of Washington, The Pennsylvania State University, Concordia University in Montreal as well as Harvard University, where he held a predoctoral fellowship at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affair while completing his dissertation.
As a self-taught programmer, Idris enjoys teaching statistics and programming in his spare time. While his current focus in on helping streamline and scale refugee resettlement, his mission is to help improve social services delivery for all through collective and artificial intelligence as an entrepreneur and investor.
Muhammed Idris | Speaker | TED.com