Does the United Nations need agents?

A new working paper published by UNU-CPR, authored by Eduardo Albrecht, explores the potential of AI agent-generated personas to support humanitarian, peacebuilding and development work in crisis-affected contexts.

The study introduces two AI personas: Ask Amina, a simulated refugee from Chad’s Metche camp, and Ask Abdalla, a fictional Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commander in Sudan. These personas are powered by large language models and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) systems, drawing on knowledge curated by “anthropologist agents”—AI systems that autonomously collect and organize cultural and contextual data.

While the study revealed potential contributions to existing activities related to peace, development and humanitarian operations - such as rapid assessments and the ability to both overcome language barriers and simulate dialogues with hard-to-reach populations - it also identified shortcomings and serious ethical risks. 

Risks include data misuse, biased outputs, misrepresentation of vulnerable populations and a potential erosion of human agency. These concerns are particularly relevant in high-stakes humanitarian operations.

To mitigate these risks, the paper proposes five key recommendations:

1. Transparency: explaining how each response is generated, including data sources and reasoning.
2. Explainability: responses must be interpretable by non-technical users.
3. Pilot-first approach: gradual adoption that allows for testing and refinement before scaling.
4. Integration: AI personas should integrate existing forecasting and planning tools.
5. Community participation: affected communities must co-govern persona development, with the authority to approve or modify outputs.

Used responsibly, the Working Paper argues, AI-generated personas can supplement traditional data collection methods, improve access to underrepresented perspectives, and enhance decision-making in fragile settings. But they must be guided by robust ethical frameworks and rooted in community engagement to ensure they serve, rather than displace, the voices of those most affected.

Read "Does the United Nations need agents?" here.