Teach AI FAQs

We are embarking on a journey to change the narrative and imagery associated with refugees within many Artificial Intelligence (AI) models, where bias is clear. This campaign empowers supporters to help UK for UNHCR teach these AI models that many refugee stories are also full of hope, bravery, courage and determination. We want to ensure that machine learning begins to recognise the human behind the label when generating images and text about refugees.

Supporters are encouraged to look through the powerful and inspiring stories of refugees that have been supported by UK for UNHCR. Every human story is unique and powerful, and we want you to help us by selecting those stories that resonate with you most. By submitting them to the AI model, you are helping to showcase the resilience and spirit of the refugee community. Each selection provides the AI model with data that will begin to overwrite its current learnings as the volumes build.

As a long-standing organisation which has worked for decades to improve the futures of refugees and displaced people, we acknowledge that we ourselves are on a journey of constant improvement in the way we represent those forced to flee in the digital environment, in our printed materials and the way we communicate our work.  We currently strive to ensure refugees are always represented with dignity and collect consent that is regularly reviewed. We are working hard to make sure that we are a force for good in the way refugees and displaced people are represented around the world. 

The selected images will be added to a dataset that will be used to train an AI model. Though this won’t change the AI’s output overnight, it’s a significant example of how wider AI models can be trained to generate more balanced, representative, dignified and diverse imagery of refugees by organisations collectively making the choice to lead such positive imagery.

We will be using an open-source repository of AI models via Hugging Face. Hugging Face is the go-to hub for all things related to natural language processing (NLP), which teaches computers to understand and generate human language. It offers cutting-edge machine learning models and tools, making it easy for organisations to tap into the power of AI. As an open-source project, Hugging Face boasts a vibrant community of AI researchers and practitioners. This gives us access to invaluable insights, best practices, and cutting-edge developments.

Yes, you can; each image is accompanied with the true story of the pictured refugee. We encourage you to engage with these stories to better understand the diverse experiences of refugees.

We are dedicated to transparency. We will provide updates via email on the AI training process and showcase how the newly integrated positive imagery is influencing our AI model’s output. Please sign up to hear more from UK for UNHCR on this movement to Change the Picture.

Imagery plays a crucial role in shaping perceptions. By promoting more diverse, inclusive and hopeful imagery, we aim to foster a more balanced and empathetic understanding of refugees’ experiences and challenges within the machine learning landscape.

Changing perceptions is a gradual process. While the integration of positive imagery into the world of machine learning is a vital step, we are also engaging in ongoing efforts to educate, inform, and inspire empathy towards refugees on a global scale.

Share the campaign with your network, engage in conversations about refugees, question or challenge refugee stereotypes wherever you come across them or support our ongoing programmes that aim to empower and uplift the refugee community by making a donation.

Whilst this isn’t something we can control ourselves, we are committed to continuously evaluating how we use imagery to ensure we’re depicting a balanced and accurate representations of refugees.