What a turn of events! Apparently, AI will teach US immigration officers a basic human emotion

The United States has undertaken an ambitious programme that seeks to use artificial intelligence (AI) to train officers in charge of reviewing applicants for refugee status in the country.

Talking to reporters on Tuesday (May 7), Alejandro Mayorkas, the United States Secretary of Homeland Security said that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has undertaken the AI programme to undertake work he described as "labour-intensive".

Trauma, empathy and more

As per Reuters, Mayorkas said that the AI would address the "labour-intensive" instructions that typically involved senior personnel.

For its pilot, the DHS is training machines to simulate refugees so that the department's officers can practice interviewing the vulnerable people applying for refuge in America.

Speaking on the sidelines of the security-focused RSA Conference in San Francisco, Mayorkas said, "Refugee applicants, given the trauma that they have endured, are reticent to be forthcoming in describing that trauma."

"So we're teaching the machine to be reticent as well," adopt other "characteristics"of applicants, he added.

How will the AI trainer work?

Elaborating on the AI initiatives it announced earlier this year, the Department of Homeland Security said it planned to develop an interactive app to supplement its training of immigration officers.

The application will draw on the so-called generative AI that creates novel content based on past data to build training materials tailored to the needs of the officers. As per the DHS, it will prepare immigration officers to make more accurate decisions.

It will be built by DHS' United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.

However, it must be noted that the AI will not make immigration decisions themselves. Speaking to Reuters,Mayorkas said that the AI will know country-specific conditions and provideother information to help officers.

(With inputs from agencies)