Communicating with AI
Meta – A Chatbot Against Discrimination

It is Said Haider’s vision to develop a “1-1-2” for discrimination incidents. With his team, the Meta founder and CEO has developed the first chatbot that provides round-the-clock legal advice for people experiencing discrimination and looking for counselling.

 

By Stephanie Hesse

Currently, there are 15 volunteers behind the Meta chatbot that provide their expertise for free. They are designers, legal experts, and engineers. In February 2021, the first prototype of the chatbot was launched that was primarily intended to convince sponsors and investors of the concept. Haider’s goal was to make the counselling options available more visible. ‘A chatbot cannot replace a human being,’ Haider says. ‘It is our goal to improve the route to personal counselling.’ As yet, counselling in cases of discrimination is not available everywhere across Germany. People experiencing discrimination must often travel long stretches in order to receive appropriate counselling. Waiting times are long, and legal procedures often have short terms. The advantage of a chatbot is that it overcomes these shortcomings and swiftly provides “first aid”.

Victims are already using Facebook and Instagram to create spaces in order to exchange experiences and to get informed. Via Instagram, they contact lawyers and seek appropriate counsel. It is on these platforms that the anti-discrimination chatbot is intended to find people that have experienced discrimination.

In the video interview, Said Haider talks about the project's history and the way the artificial intelligence behind the chatbot works.