About two years ago, I got a phone call that changed my life.
Pre otprilike dve godine, primio sam telefonski poziv koji mi je promenio život.
"Hey, this is your cousin Hassen."
„Hej, ovde tvoj rođak Hasan.”
I froze. You see, I have well over 30 first cousins, but I didn't know anybody named Hassen.
Smrzao sam se. Vidite, ja imam preko 30 bliskih rođaka, ali nisam znao nijednog po imenu Hasan.
It turned out that Hassen was actually my mom's cousin and had just arrived in Montreal as a refugee. And over the next few months, I would have three more relatives coming to Canada to apply for asylum with little more than the clothes on their back. And in the two years since that phone call, my life has completely changed. I left academia and now lead a diverse team of technologists, researchers and refugees that is developing customized self-help resources for newcomers. We want to help them overcome language, cultural and other barriers that make them feel like they've lost control over their own lives. And we feel that AI can help restore the rights and the dignity that many people lose when seeking help.
Ispostavilo se da je Hasan rođak moje majke koji je upravo stigao u Montreal kao izbeglica. Tokom narednih nekoliko meseci, došlo je još tri rođaka u Kanadu, tražeći azil, sa tek nešto više od onoga što su imali na sebi. Tokom dve godine od tog poziva, moj život se potpuno promenio. Napustio sam akademski svet i sada vodim šaroliki tim tehnologa, istraživača i izbeglica, koji razvijaju prilagođena sredstva samopomoći za pridošlice. Mi želimo da im pomognemo da prevaziđu jezičke, kulturološke i druge prepreke zbog kojih se osećaju kao da su izgubili kontrolu nad svojim životom. Mi smatramo da veštačka inteligencija može pomoći da povrate svoja prava i dostojanstvo koje mnogi ljudi izgube kada traže pomoć.
My family's refugee experience is not unique. According to the UNHCR, every minute, 20 people are newly displaced by climate change, economic crisis and social and political instability. And it was while volunteering at a local YMCA shelter that my cousin Hassen and other relatives were sent to that we saw and learned to appreciate how much effort and coordination resettlement requires.
Izbegličko iskustvo moje porodice nije jedinstveno. Prema Visokom komesarijatu UN za izbeglice, svake minute 20 ljudi promeni mesto prebivališta, usled klimatskih promena, ekonomskih kriza i socijalne i političke nestabilnosti. Volontirajući u lokalnom prihvatilištu organizacije YMCA u koje su poslati moj rođak Hasan i ostali rođaci, videli smo i naučili da cenimo koliko napora i koordinacije je potrebno za preseljenje.
When you first arrive, you need to find a lawyer and fill out legal documents within two weeks. You also need to schedule a medical exam with a pre-authorized physician, just so that you can apply for a work permit. And you need to start looking for a place to live before you receive any sort of social assistance.
Kada dođete, morate da nađete advokata, i da popunite pravna dokumenta u roku od dve nedelje. Takođe treba da zakažete medicinski pregled kod ovlašćenog lekara, samo da biste se prijavili za radnu dozvolu. Morate i da počnete da tražite mesto gde ćete živeti pre nego što primite bilo kakvu socijalnu pomoć.
With thousands fleeing the United States to seek asylum in Canada over the past few years, we quickly saw what it looks like when there are more people who need help than there are resources to help them. Social services doesn't scale quickly, and even if communities do their best to help more people with limited resources, newcomers end up spending more time waiting in limbo, not knowing where to turn.
Sa hiljade onih koji hrle iz Sjedinjenih Država kako bi potražili azil u Kanadi, tokom proteklih nekoliko godina, brzo smo videli kako to izgleda kada postoji više ljudi kojima treba pomoć nego sredstava da im se pomogne. Socijalne službe ne rade brzo, i čak i ako zajednice čine sve da pomognu što većem broju ljudi, sa ograničenim sredstvima, pridošlice na kraju provedu toliko vremena vrteći se u krug, ne znajući kuda da se okrenu.
In Montreal, for example, despite millions of dollars being spent to support resettlement efforts, nearly 50 percent of newcomers still don't know that there are free resources that exist to help them with everything from filling out paperwork to finding a job. The challenge is not that this information doesn't exist. On the contrary, those in need are often bombarded with so much information that it's difficult to make sense of it all. "Don't give me more information, just tell me what to do," was a sentiment we heard over and over again. And it reflects how insanely difficult it could be to get your bearings when you first arrive in a new country. Hell, I struggled with the same issues when I got to Montreal, and I have a PhD.
U Montrealu, na primer, uprkos milionima dolara koje se troše kao pomoć naporima za preseljenje, gotovo 50 procenata pridošlica i dalje ne zna da postoje besplatni izvori koji im mogu pomoći oko svega, od popunjavanja papirologije do pronalaženja posla. Nije izazov da ta informacija ne postoji. Naprotiv, oni kojima je pomoć potrebna su često toliko bombardovani informacijama da je jako teško shvatiti sve to. „Nemoj mi davati još informacija, samo mi reci šta da radim.” bila je izjava koju smo slušali iznova i iznova. A ona se odnosi na to koliko može biti teško snaći se kada prvi put dođete u novu zemlju. Pa i sam sâm se borio sa istim problemima kada sam stigao u Montreal, a imam doktorat.
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
As another member of our team, himself also a refugee, put it: "In Canada, a SIM card is more important than food, because we will not die from hunger." But getting access to the right resources and information can be the difference between life and death. Let me say that again: getting access to the right resources and information can be the difference between life and death.
Kako je to sročio naš član tima, takođe izbeglica: „U Kanadi, SIM kartica je značajnija od hrane, zato što nećemo umreti od gladi.” Ali dobiti pristup pravim sredstvima i informacijama može predstavljati tanku liniju između života i smrti. Ponoviću: imati pristup pravim sredstvima i informacijama može predstavljati tanku liniju između života i smrti.
In order to address these issues, we built Atar, the first-ever AI-powered virtual advocate that guides you step-by-step through your first week of arriving in a new city. Just tell Atar what you need help with. Atar will then ask you some basic questions to understand your unique circumstances and determine your eligibility for resources. For example: Do you have a place to stay tonight? If not, would you prefer an all-women's shelter? Do you have children? Atar will then generate a custom, step-by-step to-do list that tells you everything that you need to know, from where to go, how to get there, what to bring with you and what to expect. You can ask a question at any time, and if Atar doesn't have an answer, you'll be connected with a real person who does.
Kako bismo rešili ove probleme, napravili smo Atar, prvog ikada napravljenog virtualnog zastupnika, koji vas vodi korak po korak kroz vašu prvu nedelju od momenta dolaska u novi grad. Samo recite Ataru kakva vam pomoć treba. Atar će vam zatim postaviti neka osnovna pitanja kako bi shvatio vaše lične okolnosti, i odlučio da li imate osnov za sredstva. Na primer: da li imate prenoćište večeras? Ako ne, da li biste više voleli žensko prihvatilište? Da li imate dece? Atar će vam tada dati jednostavnu listu „korak po korak” koja vam govori sve što treba da znate, od toga gde da idete, kako da dođete do tamo, šta da ponesete sa sobom i šta da očekujete. Možete postaviti pitanje u bilo kom momentu, a ako Atar nema odgovor, bićete povezani sa stvarnom osobom koja zna.
But what's most exciting is that we help humanitarian and service organizations collect the data and the analytics that's necessary to understand the changing needs of newcomers in real time. That's a game changer. We've already partnered with the UNHCR to provide this technology in Canada, and in our work have conducted campaigns in Arabic, English, French, Creole and Spanish.
Ono što je najuzbudljivije je da mi pomažemo humanitarnim i organizacijama za pružanje usluga da prikupe podatke i analitiku koja je potrebna da bi se razumele promenljive potrebe pridošlica u stvarnom vremenu. To je ono što bitno menja situaciju. Već smo se udružili sa Visokim komesarijatom u pružanju ove tehnologije u Kanadi, i tokom našeg rada smo sprovodili kampanje na arapskom, engleskom, francuskom, kreolskom i španskom.
When we talk about the issue of refugees, we often focus on the official statistic of 65.8 million forcibly displaced worldwide. But the reality is much greater than that. By 2050, there will be an additional 140 million people who are at risk of being displaced due to environmental degradation. And today -- that is today -- there are nearly one billion people who already live in illegal settlements and slums. Resettlement and integration is one of the greatest challenges of our time. and our hope is that Atar can provide every single newcomer an advocate. Our hope is that Atar can amplify existing efforts and alleviate pressure on a social safety net that's already stretched beyond imagination. But what's most important to us is that our work helps restore the rights and the dignity that refugees lose throughout resettlement and integration by giving them the resources that they need in order to help themselves.
Kada pričamo o problemima izbeglica, često se fokusiramo na zvaničnu statistiku od 65,8 miliona prinudno raseljenih širom sveta. Ali u stvarnosti je to mnogo više. Do kraja 2050. godine, biće još dodatnih 140 miliona ljudi koji su pod rizikom od raseljavanja usled uništavanja životne sredine. Danas, u ovom momentu, skoro jedna milijarda ljudi živi u ilegalnim naseljima i predgrađima. Raseljavanje i integracija su jedan od najvećih izazova današnjice. Nadamo se da Atar može pružiti zastupnika svakom novom pridošlici. Nadamo se da Atar može pojačati postojeće napore i rasteretiti pritisak sa mreže socijalne zaštite koja je već rastegnuta preko svojih granica. Ali ono što nam je najznačajnije je da naš rad pomaže povratku prava i dostojanstva koje izbeglice gube tokom raseljavanja i integracije, pružajući im sredstva koja su im potrebna da bi pomogli sami sebi.
Thank you.
Hvala vam.
(Applause)
(Aplauz)