Pits of AI assistants who can help you in sending emails or craft pitch devils may feel stagnant, but what about one designed to help new immigrants? What about a digital assistant that can connect a depressed person to social services or simply help them feel supported in another country? That’s what Alma, a new virtual assistant designed by the International Resport National Committee (IRC), is designed to do.
Almawhich stands for “AI with the help of life mapping,” was developed in-house by many IRC groups and their clients, modeled after the Digital Learning Tool known as apprendia. It draws on the IRC’s vast library of resources – general customer resources, staff training resources, and information provided by trusted outside organizations – to provide specialized assistance to refugees, special immigrant visa holders, and others.
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Most notably, Alma is based on Whatsapp, one of the leading communication platforms for immigrant communities across the country, including those served by IRC. It is a growing area of Non-English language resources and local planning. People who just need help should text Alma (+1 619-658-5100) for immediate assistance.
“We wanted to make sure that clients had a way to get answers and reliable resources and resources 24/7,” said Tara Catanach, Alma’s director and IRC’s project director for visibility and placement. Catanach explained that, unlike the beloved Chatbot companions sold by the major players in the field, Alma is not designed to be continuous with the client – the kind of reliance on Chatbots currently inspires concern among mental health professionals.
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Instead, alma is designed as an emergency response tool with a special use case in mind: A newcomer to the US needs help finding benefits or nearby social services. They want to know how to apply for housing or the best way to talk to their landlord. They can ask to participate in a regular job interview or get an overview of their rights.
“It’s easy to refer to Alma as Virtual Casporker, but Alma doesn’t replace any work in our offices,” said Catanach.
Alma uses LLMS not for any basic content, IRC explains, but for customized responses. Currently, it includes Openuai’s GPT 4.1 and GPT 4.1 Mini, but the organization explains that Alma can work on any model. It also deals with specific protections related to mental health, harassment, or domestic violence in other organizations or cold for IRC employees.
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Alma can also enter the Internet if individual requests are out of their scope, but they show what catanach describes as things from common pools of information, resources that are always likely to promise you lies or truths without power, like other AI-powered search engines.
Unlike a service like chatgpt, for example, “Alma says who our users are,” Catanach said. “They are English language learners. They are new to the US. The client doesn’t need to do any training to get the information they need.”
Across the US, immigrants and refugees are forced to navigate a fenced-off and hostile political environment. The Trump administration has taken a hard line on immigration, including highlighting special visa conditions and suspensions Refugee initiation program. Many fear arrest, deportation, and surveillance by Entry guidelines have been rewritten by Federal leaders.
Meanwhile, social platforms and big tech leaders have stepped up to the management, including WhatsApp Parent Company Meta. Recent changes to the platform’s advertising policy Audible alarm bells Among the privacy experts, and the investigation that finds Trump officials, including Ice Agentshe used the app for the use of observation. WhatsApp is known for it it’s complicated Mistinform when the rumor mill goes unchecked.
However, Alma is hosted on WhatsApp because that’s where people actually need it, and where they already have programs that support it, instead of a separate website or app.
WhatsApp too recently swearing to warn users of Government Spyware. User messages are the only ones that are automatically encrypted by default, but Alma collects phone numbers and other WhatsApp profile information for IRC research, Catanach told Mashable. The AI has been instructed to tell users not to share personally identifiable information, such as personal addresses, or their immigration status, unless they are free to do so. Legal advice – including questions about green cards or visas that come up frequently – and you’re not a casteworker assistant, directing users to their sources if they need help with their case.
Alma launched for the first time in Dari / Farsi, English, Spanish and Swahili, the most widely used languages among IRC customers. Catanach says they are testing Alma’s capabilities in 10 more languages for future updates, and want to add new topics like health care and school in the Alma region. You’ll hopefully find some new accessibility, too, like the option to send voice notes.
IRC hopes to reach 100,000 users in Alma’s first year. “Our goal is to get Alma into the hands of those who could use its support.”
