What is the name of your solution?
Chatbot Sophia
Provide a one-line summary of your solution.
Sophia, the digital companion empowering survivors of modern slavery to break free wherever they are in the world.
In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?
SwitzerlandWhat type of organization is your solution team?
Nonprofit
Film your elevator pitch.
What specific problem are you solving?
The expansion of Sophia will mainly serve (migrant) women domestic workers. Before they start their employment, it will help them gather information on their rights and the local rights of their employment country, as well as safeguard all their important documents in our Digital Safe. During and after their employment, if they faced any issues, Sophia will support them in finding information about their rights and options, as well as about the support services available to them. As Sophia provides information in numerous languages, survivors can receive information in their native language and thus more easily understand and utilise the resources. Many migrant workers are afraid about immigration policies in their employment countries and might fear being deported if they report exploitation or abuse. Sophia is thus a useful, confidential and discreet first stepping stone for them to gather relevant information and can reduce the threshold to reaching out to local support services for help.
In addition to that, Sophia’s Digital Safe provides them with the possibility to save potential evidence of the exploitation or abuse.
What is your solution?
Sophia is an AI-driven Chatbot that already supports survivors of domestic violence on a global scale in every country in the world. After our initial success in reaching and empowering survivors of domestic violence, we are now expanding Sophia’s capabilities to modern slavery. Through this additional function, (migrant) women domestic workers can gather relevant information about their rights in the employment country, safeguard their important documents in Sophia’s Digital Safe, and, if faced with exploitation or abuse, find information about local support services, as well as save potential evidence of their situation. If they become trapped by their abusers, they will be able to discreetly and safely reach out for help. Survivors will be able to chat to Sophia and find help in the following ways:
Safeguard their important documents before starting employment and potential evidence of the exploitation and/or abuse during/after employment. Sophia guides domestic workers step by step on how to gather and save important documents and potential evidence. They can subsequently store these documents and potential evidence in their personal “Digital Safe”. This is an innovative and state-of-the-art digital tool that we built in a way to keep survivors safe, including an image password, decoy websites and other magic. It is highly secure, end-to-end encrypted, and only accessible via a one-time-only link via a specially designed decoy website. When the Digital Safe is closed, Sophia rewrites the browser history and all traces of Sophia and the Digital Safe disappear from the survivor’s device.
Know your options Sophia guides domestic workers on their rights in the employment country and on how to increase their safety,and assists in planning an escape, if needed. Rights: Sophia informs survivors about the rights they have in the country and internationally, as well as their legal and other options.
Find help: Sophia will guide workers to the nearest support service where they are so they can find help locally. She also explains the police procedures and whether this is an option for them.
The chatbot is anonymous, confidential, multi-lingual, for free, available 24/7, and leaves no digital trace, therefore keeping people safe when reaching out for help. Sophia can be reached through any internet-connected device via any browser, What’s App, Telegram or Viber.
How are you ensuring ethical and responsible use of technology in your work, especially if you’re utilizing AI? How are you addressing or mitigating potential risks in your solution?
When considering the implementation of Chatbot Sophia, we acknowledge that every technology and every innovation carries inherent risks. While actively acknowledging this, we have implemented comprehensive measures to address and mitigate these risks effectively.
Firstly, our paramount concern is privacy and security. We recognise the sensitivity of the data involved in supporting survivors of domestic violence, which is why we have adopted a privacy and security-centred approach from the outset. This approach ensures that the needs and safety of survivors are prioritised in every decision we make.
To bolster our efforts, we collaborate closely with survivors at every level of our organisation. Their insights and feedback guide the continuous refinement of our technology and processes to better serve their needs and protect their privacy.
Furthermore, we have engaged world-renowned privacy hackers to conduct rigorous security assessments of our systems. This proactive approach helps us identify vulnerabilities and implement robust solutions to mitigate potential risks.
In addition to our internal expertise, we have a dedicated privacy and security engineer on our core team, supported by advisory oversight from Flynn Coleman, an international AI and Human Rights expert and human rights lawyer affiliated with Harvard University and Yale University. Her active guidance ensures that our technological advancements align with ethical standards and human rights principles.
To further solidify our commitment to security, we are currently undergoing the ISO 27001 certification process. This internationally recognised standard for information security management systems will validate our adherence to the highest industry standards, providing assurance to stakeholders and users alike.
Moreover, we maintain a continuous learning culture within our organisation, staying abreast of the latest security issues, trends, and best practices. This ongoing education ensures that our team remains proactive in addressing emerging threats and evolving our security protocols accordingly.
In summary, while acknowledging the risks inherent in technological solutions like Chatbot Sophia, our rigorous risk management framework, commitment to privacy and security, engagement with survivors, and pursuit of industry certifications demonstrate our proactive approach to mitigating these risks effectively. We are dedicated to maintaining the trust and safety of our users as we scale our solution
Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?
The expansion of Sophia will mainly serve (migrant) women domestic workers. Before they start their employment, it will help them gather information on their rights and the local rights of their employment country, as well as safeguard all their important documents in our Digital Safe. During and after their employment, if they faced any issues, Sophia will support them in finding information about their rights and options, as well as about the support services available to them. As Sophia provides information in numerous languages, survivors can receive information in their native language and thus more easily understand and utilise the resources. Many migrant workers are afraid about immigration policies in their employment countries and might fear being deported if they report exploitation or abuse. Sophia is thus a useful, confidential and discreet first stepping stone for them to gather relevant information and can reduce the threshold to reaching out to local support services for help.
In addition to that, Sophia’s Digital Safe provides them with the possibility to save potential evidence of the exploitation or abuse.
How are you and your team well-positioned to deliver this solution?
**Programme Team**
Rhiana Spring is an international human rights expert and tech entrepreneur. She has worked on protecting human rights across 18 countries and 4 continents with the UN, the Swiss Foreign Ministry and various legal teams. She has also built Spring ACT, with which Chatbot Sophia has reached over 36,000 people in 143 countries thus far without any funding for active outreach.
Ndeye Diodio Calloga is a human rights lawyer, who has nearly a decade of experience working hands-on with the over 50,000 enslaved children across West Africa.
Clarina Bianchi is a gender-based violence expert who has worked in various countries and with different NGOs and UN offices on ending violence against women and girls, e.g. with UN Women in India to empower migrant women domestic workers seeking employment in the Gulf countries.
**Technical Team:**
Our technical team has built the world’s first chatbot empowering survivors of domestic violence as well as the Digital Safe from a survivor-centric approach. Before joining Spring ACT, they worked for Princeton University, Mastercard Foundation, UNFPA, where they developed and honed their impressive technical skills that allowed them to develop Sophia.
**Previous Work**
Last but not least, our team and work have won multiple global and European innovation awards. Amongst others, we received the Swiss Future and Youth Prize from the President of Switzerland, the Prize for Global Security, and won the Social Innovation Tournament from the European Investment Bank.
Which dimension of the Challenge does your solution most closely address?
Improving access to, and awareness of, critical survivor resourcesWhich of the UN Sustainable Development Goals does your solution address?
What is your solution’s stage of development?
PrototypeWhy are you applying to the Challenge?
Since the very beginning of building Sophia, we have received continuous requests from organisations around the world (e.g. the Solidary Centre in the US, and Be Bold in the Gulf States) to expand Sophia to modern slavery (specifically domestic workers in South Africa and the Gulf as pilots, and human trafficking). We are applying to the Modern Slavery Challenge by MIT Solve because we have built a successful chatbot that is helping thousands of people in precarious situations. We believe that our Chatbot Sophia will be able to reach and empower millions of people trapped in modern slavery through its discreet way of already being on people’s phone, without needing any extra downloads, safeguarding the survivor's anonymity and security. To be able meet this ever growing demand from organisations wishing to expand Sophia to modern slavery survivors, we primarily need financial, legal and cultural support. Financial support will allow us to work with experts int he field and establish local and global partnerships. Through the esteemed mentorship and network of MIT Solve, we believe we will be able to tackle these barriers and rapidly expand Sophia to an area desperately in need of technological innovation as the movements and options of survivors of modern slavery are often heavily restricted. They need a way to find help that is right there in their pockets. Sophia can solve this solution with the help of MIT Solve.
In which of the following areas do you most need partners or support?
Who is the Team Lead for your solution?
Rhiana Spring, Executive Director and Founder
What makes your solution innovative?
Our solution, Chatbot Sophia, stands out for its innovative approach to supporting survivors of modern slavery through advanced technology and comprehensive support mechanisms. Unlike traditional methods, Sophia operates 24/7 as an AI-powered chatbot, providing survivors with immediate, confidential, and accessible assistance. This includes information on rights, access to support services, and a secure Digital Safe for documenting evidence safely.
Sophia innovates by integrating AI and natural language processing (NLP) to tailor responses to the unique needs of survivors globally. This personalised approach ensures that survivors receive relevant information and support, enhancing their empowerment and decision-making capabilities. Moreover, our solution addresses privacy and security concerns by employing world-renowned privacy hackers to continually enhance safeguards and by maintaining a privacy-centric design ethos.
By catalysing broader positive impacts, Sophia not only improves direct support for survivors but also raises awareness and changes societal perceptions about modern slavery. Through partnerships with NGOs, governments, and community organisations, Sophia aims to create a ripple effect in the anti-slavery movement, encouraging others to adopt technology-driven solutions that prioritise survivor empowerment and privacy.
Describe in simple terms how and why you expect your solution to have an impact on the problem.
Our theory of change links Sophia's activities to immediate outputs and longer-term outcomes for survivors of modern slavery. By providing immediate access to information and support, Sophia empowers survivors to make informed decisions about their safety and legal options. This leads to increased reporting of incidents, better access to justice, and improved support systems.
In the short term, Sophia's activities focus on increasing survivor engagement and satisfaction metrics, measuring the number of users accessing support services and documenting incidents securely. Medium-term outcomes include enhanced partnerships with stakeholders and increased awareness of modern slavery dynamics and survivor needs.
Long-term outcomes involve policy changes and societal shifts towards a more supportive environment for survivors. This includes improved legal frameworks, reduced stigma, and increased societal understanding of modern slavery as a human rights issue. These outcomes are supported by evidence from impact evaluations, survivor testimonials, and collaborations with anti-slavery advocates and organisations.
What are your impact goals for your solution and how are you measuring your progress towards them?
Our impact goals for Sophia include:
- Increased survivor empowerment: Measure through the number of survivors accessing and utilising Sophia's support tools and resources.
- Improved access to justice: Track the number of cases where Sophia's documentation tools have been used to support legal proceedings.
- Enhanced awareness and education: Monitor public awareness campaigns' reach and effectiveness in changing perceptions and behaviours related to modern slavery.
We measure progress using specific indicators aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), such as SDG 5 (Gender Equality) and SDG 16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions). These include metrics on user engagement, data security improvements, and qualitative feedback from survivors and stakeholders.
Describe the core technology that powers your solution.
Sophia uses the latest AI and the latest in conversational technology offered by Zendesk and Ada in their commitment to our work. Due to the sensitive nature, security, trust, and privacy are paramount. Zendesk’s Sunshine system provides a stable base on which to build, providing API access, built-in integrations to popular messaging apps, out of the box security, and logic for the conversation flow. We are building on top of the tried and tested Zendesk Sunshine platform in order to create a seemingly human chatbot that, on first glance, will not look like an adviser for abusive situations. This will be done by deleting the chats after a set timeout and adding a "false" conversation in its place. Images, text, and others can be retrieved from Sophia by using uncommon, personal phrases that will allow the "true" conversations with Sophia to be retrieved. The content of the conversations themselves will not be saved but users will be able to upload text, audio, and images; these will be securely stored in an S3-compliant storage system (based in Switzerland).
Which of the following categories best describes your solution?
A new application of an existing technology
Please select the technologies currently used in your solution:
If your solution has a website, app, or social media handle, provide the link(s) here:
www.springact.org
How many people work on your solution team?
7 full-time
2 part-time
How long have you been working on your solution?
over 3 years
Tell us about how you ensure that your team is diverse, minimizes barriers to opportunity for staff, and provides a welcoming and inclusive environment for all team members.
Spring ACT was founded by women and is currently run by majority women from diverse nationalities, abilities and expertise, genders, and sexual orientations. We proactively empower women to take up leadership positions by fostering the space and training to advance women into team leader and management positions. Additionally, Spring ACT's organizational culture actively provides a safe space for women to improve negotiation and other crucial skills needed in the economic sphere. Our team of 9 people has 11 nationalities from 3 continents, 3 genders, and multiple sexual orientations. We proactively seek out advice on how to continuously improve our values-based organisation with our Advisors Flynn Coleman (international human rights lawyer), Rita Isak-Ndieye (Former UN Special Rapporteur for Minority Rights, Former Special Rapporteur for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination), Hilda Liswani (Expert in Diversity in Tech), and Drew Dudley (International Leadership Expert).
What is your business model?
Our current business model for Chatbot Sophia is centred around fundraising and grant acquisition to support our mission of combating modern slavery and human trafficking, particularly focusing on empowering domestic workers who are among the most vulnerable in the global workforce. According to UN Women, there are an estimated 67 million domestic workers worldwide, with 80% being women. Many of these workers are in informal employment, lacking clear contracts or any formal agreements, which exposes them to exploitation and abuse, including human trafficking.
Products and Services:
- Chatbot Sophia: Provides 24/7 support and information to domestic workers, including migrant women, to empower them with accurate information and support before, during, and after their employment. This includes information on rights, access to justice, and where to seek help if they face exploitation or abuse.
- Digital Safe: A secure tool for domestic workers to document incidents of abuse, store evidence safely, and seek legal recourse, ensuring confidentiality and aiding in combating human trafficking.
How We Provide These Products and Services:
- Sophia is accessible via web and mobile platforms, offering confidential support and resources to domestic workers globally, especially those in precarious situations.
- The Digital Safe feature employs robust encryption and security measures to safeguard sensitive information, crucial in contexts where documents and personal information may be at risk of exploitation.
Value Proposition: Sophia addresses critical needs by providing immediate, confidential support and empowering domestic workers to navigate complex legal and employment landscapes. Our technology-driven approach ensures scalability and accessibility, essential for reaching vulnerable populations globally.
Do you primarily provide products or services directly to individuals, to other organizations, or to the government?
Individual consumers or stakeholders (B2C)What is your plan for becoming financially sustainable, and what evidence can you provide that this plan has been successful so far?
Achieving long-term financial sustainability is one of our biggest priorities. To achieve this, we are developing a diversified revenue model that includes the following strategies:
Product Development and Subscription Model:
- We are building the ImpACT Platform, a centralised dashboard for stakeholders to monitor Sophia's impact and usage, available on a subscription basis. This platform will provide real-time data and analytics, enhancing organisations' ability to respond effectively to human trafficking and exploitation.
Digital Safe as a Service:
- Exploring opportunities to offer the Digital Safe as a Service model, particularly in conflict and post-conflict settings where traditional justice systems are compromised. This model involves fees for deployment, maintenance, and support, generating revenue while supporting survivor-centric solutions.
Grant Funding and Philanthropic Support:
- Continued pursuit of grants and philanthropic funding to sustain operations, expand services, and enhance impact. Past successes include grants from international foundations and partnerships with humanitarian organisations.
Evidence of Success:
- Grant Funding: Secured funding from reputable foundations and governmental bodies underscores the effectiveness and impact of our approach.
- Partnership Agreements: Initial agreements for the ImpACT Platform and Digital Safe deployments demonstrate market demand and potential revenue streams.
Solution Team
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Rhiana Spring LL.M. CEO and Founder, Spring ACT – Action. Compassion. Technology.
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Our Organization
Spring ACT – Action. Compassion. Technology.