Yuri Milner's non-profit initiative Tech For Refugees is helping fund the development of an AI-powered chatbot platform to support education in crisis-affected communities. The platform, aprendIA, delivers personalised learning experiences to refugee children and those living in conflict settings.
aprendIA is a project from the International Rescue Committee (IRC). Tech For Refugees partnered with the IRC in early 2023 and has already issued a grant that has enabled the organisation to expand its award-winning Signpost platform. Now, Tech For Refugees continues to support the IRC's projects for those in crisis.
Using Technology to Address the Education Crisis
Rising inequality, instability, and poverty continue to be major obstacles to education worldwide. As of 2023, crises had impacted around 224 million preschool- and school-aged children globally. Almost 90% of those children are out of school or in school but not learning.
Refugee children are five times less likely to attend school than others. Moreover, half of all out-of-school children often live in conflict and crisis settings. Even when children can attend school, the impact of these settings on teachers can make effective learning impossible.
Teachers and learning facilitators often lack the appropriate resources to support children facing extreme challenges. Students who have experienced disrupted schooling may be dealing with trauma, missed years of education, or new curricula in unfamiliar languages.
Technology can drive significant progress in these circumstances without straining already limited, overstretched services and resources. Aside from increasing children's knowledge, better access to quality education can promote inclusive societies. Effective education can also help individuals develop skills that drive growth and prosperity.
Julia and Yuri Milner founded Tech For Refugees in 2022 to enhance the role of technology in accelerating humanitarian relief. The non-profit funds the tech-driven programmes of partners like Airbnb.org and Uber to make a difference in the lives of refugees and communities in need.
Tech For Refugees collaborated with UNICEF USA in 2023 to bring vital educational aid to Ukrainian children. Now, the non-profit will help the IRC expand its aprendIA platform to help teachers, parents, and students in crisis zones worldwide.
How aprendIA Works
The IRC has developed aprendIA to address the critical need for education in humanitarian contexts. Through two-way learning and AI personalisation, children, parents, and teachers can easily access engaging, effective learning resources and tools.
aprendIA rapidly deploys educational interventions via messaging platforms clients commonly use, like WhatsApp and SMS. As this approach doesn't involve expensive hardware or software, the system has the potential to scale effectively in different humanitarian contexts.
aprendIA repurposes and delivers high-quality content in various formats, such as text, video, audio, PDFs, and gamified assets. The platform also offers feedback, personalised nudges, and instructional ideas thanks to the generative capabilities of AI and natural language processing.
The IRC's vision for aprendIA is that, by 2033, children will receive personalised learning within 30 days of the onset of a crisis. The platform will ensure continuity of learning and help students return to formal schooling once the crisis ends. aprendIA will also help communities prepare for future disruptions by adapting to individualised learning needs.
The IRC hopes aprendIA will lead to improved learning outcomes and teacher empowerment. The platform will also allow the IRC to research the effectiveness of safe, ethical AI applications in education.
Developing and Expanding aprendIA
The IRC designed aprendIA with the expertise of its innovation team, Airbel Impact Lab. The lab accounts for just 3% of the humanitarian sector's budget but conducts one-third of its impact evaluations. Aside from education, Airbel Impact Lab's other focus areas include climate, malnutrition, and women-centred health.
So far, the IRC has launched aprendIA pilot programmes in Bangladesh, Colombia, and Nigeria. The system facilitated the design and launch of a virtual tool in less than four weeks.
Initial feedback from these prototypes indicates higher learner engagement, reduced teacher workloads, and improved learning outcomes for children. For example, the programme has significantly accelerated student progress in Colombia thanks to aprendIA's AudioClass System.
OpenAI recently awarded the IRC $250,000 and offered integration with its ChatGPT tool to develop and scale aprendIA. With this support, the IRC hopes to reach at least 10,000 teachers and caregivers in various areas facing protracted and acute crises. At least 500,000 students will indirectly benefit as a result of the aprendIA expansion.
Tech For Refugees announced that it would extend its partnership with the IRC and help finance aprendIA on 18 June 2024. Milner's Breakthrough Foundation shared the news on X with its more than 15,000 followers. The IRC reposted the announcement, writing: "We're grateful for the support of Tech For Refugees."
Milner said: "I am excited for the opportunity of fast deployment of aprendIA, and I'm looking forward to seeing how the aprendIA platform leverages AI to help refugees access that knowledge."
Tech For Refugees: Supporting Digital Humanitarian Platforms
Tech For Refugees has supported the development of various innovative digital platforms. Its partnership with the IRC has included support for Signpost, a community-driven information platform. Signpost received the first-ever European Prize for Humanitarian Innovation and a United Nations award for its significant efforts to empower refugees.
Tech For Refugees also helped finance the development of Welcome Connect. The first-of-its-kind platform helps U.S. citizens who want to sponsor refugees connect with beneficiaries safely and securely. Welcome Connect has helped welcome more than 500,000 newcomers over the last two years.
In May 2024, Tech For Refugees announced a new grant to expand Welcome Connect. The donation will see the platform grow to offer a fuller range of support and resources.
About Yuri Milner
Yuri Milner is a technology investor and science philanthropist who has signed the Giving Pledge. His philanthropy focuses on:
- Celebrating scientific achievement.
- Advancing fundamental knowledge.
- Using scientific and technological innovations to improve people's lives and inspire future generations.
Two of Milner's charitable initiatives include the Breakthrough Prize and Breakthrough Junior Challenge. The Breakthrough Prize recognises the world's top scientists working in the fundamental sciences. Each prize is $3 million, and laureates receive their awards at a star-studded ceremony known as the "Oscars of Science."
Meanwhile, the Breakthrough Junior Challenge is a global science video competition for students. Each year, young people from around the world enter the competition in the hopes of winning three prizes. These include a $250,000 post-secondary scholarship, $50,000 for the winner's teacher, and a new science lab for their school.
Milner has collected some of his ideas about scientific progress and humanity's future in a short book, Eureka Manifesto: The Mission for Our Civilisation. The manifesto proposes that we need a shared mission to thrive and continue writing the next chapters of the Universal Story.
