Companies could help refugees rebuild their lives by paying them to boost artificial intelligence (AI) using their phones and giving them digital skills, a tech nonprofit said Thursday.
The cash could enable refugees to buy livestock, educate children and access health care, leaving them less dependant on aid and helping them recover faster, according to Mikkelsen.
"This would give them the ability to rebuild a life … and the dignity of no longer having to rely solely on charity," Mikkelsen told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
AI is the development of computer systems that can perform tasks that normally require human intelligence.
REFUNITE, based in California, is testing the app in Uganda where it has launched a pilot project involving 5,000 refugees, mainly form South Sudan and Democratic Republic of Congo. It hopes to scale up to 25,000 refugees within two years.
Another tech company, DeepBrain Chain, has committed to paying 200 refugees for a test period of six months, he said.