How a Hong Kong charity is using AI to help migrant workers tackle exploitation
Overwhelmed by a high volume of inquiries, a 17-member Hong Kong charity offering pro bono help to migrant workers has turned to artificial intelligence (AI) to scale up its operations. David Bishop, co-founder and director of local non-governmental organisation Migrasia, described the systemic abuse in global labour migration as a “climate change-level issue”, as ageing populations across major…
A Hong Kong charity, Migrasia, is leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to assist migrant workers grappling with exploitation, as the influx of inquiries overwhelmed their limited resources. Co-founder and director David Bishop likened the charity's new AI chatbot, PoBot, to a centralised call centre for migrant workers, stating it offers instant support while gathering data to expose exploitation patterns.
To ensure accessibility, PoBot was embedded into popular chat applications like Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp, eliminating the need for users to download a separate app. PoBot has processed over 3,500 unique cases in its first seven months, with monthly new cases surging from 198 to 744. In July, users could communicate in 36 languages.
The most frequent issues reported were illegal recruitment (29%), disputes over employment benefits (10%), and refund fraud (7%). Nearly 29% of users reported problems in the Philippines, followed by Hong Kong (27.5%). The charity's shift towards automation was prompted by the overwhelming number of daily requests, allowing staff to focus on complex cases.
PoBot connects to Migrasia's internal databases to provide tailored guidance, confirming the legality of recruitment fees and advising on licensing requirements. If the bot identifies severe cases, such as human trafficking or sexual abuse, it alerts human migration specialists for intervention. PoBot's independence in resolving queries has increased from 4-5% to 10%, with the remaining cases still requiring human assistance.
The charity began developing PoBot in June 2023 and has achieved a 99% retrieval accuracy rate. Future plans include expanding PoBot's automation capabilities to handle more repetitive administrative tasks and customising knowledge bases for other regional migration corridors.
Written by urgent.news from South China Morning Post - Hong Kong's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
This story
This is one outlet's version. Read the fullest account.
