Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) made efforts to test artificial intelligence (AI) to train officers who screen asylum seekers for refugee status. Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas explained that AI has been incorporated into the training to simulate behaviors and characteristics of refugee applicants in order to help agents practice interviewing more effectively.

Mayorkas noted that many asylum seekers are reluctant to describe the trauma they have endured, and the AI has been instructed to mimic this reluctance, in addition to other characteristics of asylum seekers, according to the Reuters report.

The remarks, made on the sidelines of the security-focused RSA Conference in San Francisco, detail the AI initiatives DHS announced earlier this year. The department said it plans to develop an interactive app to supplement the training of immigration officers, using so-called generative AI, which creates new content based on previous data.

According to information from the DHS administration, AI will not make immigration decisions on its own, but will serve as a tool to help officers make more accurate decisions by providing information about country-specific conditions and other relevant information.

In addition, other AI trials are underway in government and industry, with a focus on the goals of reducing costs and improving performance through this technology. Mayorkas also mentioned DHS's advanced use of AI in detecting anomalies in vehicles crossing the border, aiming to disrupt attempts to smuggle substances such as fentanyl and other contraband into the United States.