How a Hong Kong charity is using AI to help migrant workers tackle exploitation

A 17-member Hong Kong charity, Migrasia, has harnessed artificial intelligence to assist migrant workers grappling with exploitation. Co-founder and director David Bishop likened the organisation's AI chatbot, PoBot, to a centralised call centre for migrant workers, noting the systemic abuse inherent in global labour migration is akin to an existential "climate change-level" crisis.

PoBot, launched in late 2024, has become the first point of contact for nearly all help-seekers, handling over 3,500 unique cases in its first seven months. The bot, available in 36 languages, addresses issues like illegal recruitment, benefit disputes, and refund fraud, with illegal recruitment making up nearly 29% of cases. Geographically, the bulk of help-seekers reporting issues are from the Philippines, accounting for 29% of cases, followed by Hong Kong at 27.5%.

The high demand for assistance prompted Migrasia to automate operations, reducing their workload and allowing staff to focus on complex cases. PoBot connects to Migrasia's internal databases to provide tailored guidance and confirm whether recruitment agencies are licensed and if charges are legal. If the charge exceeds the legal cap, the bot asks for evidence to report the agency to authorities.

Human intervention is triggered for sensitive crises and when PoBot handles cases that it cannot resolve independently. Despite PoBot initially resolving only 4-5% of queries on its own, this figure has risen to 10%, with the rest requiring human intervention. The charity plans to expand PoBot's automation to handle more repetitive administrative tasks, focusing on high-volume migration corridors first, such as the Philippines–Hong Kong and Indonesia–Hong Kong routes.