Bank, NGO unveil AI-driven migrant worker counseling service

Taipei, Oct. 28 (CNA) The DBS Foundation and the Garden of Hope Foundation, an NGO concerned with the rights of female migrant workers and their children, announced a planned online counseling service to support the mental health of the more than 200,000 live-in foreign caregivers in Taiwan.

The artificial intelligence-powered service, called "AI Angel," is now being "trained" by around 100 migrant workers in Bahasa Indonesia, Tagalog, Vietnamese and Thai, to ensure that its language will be accurate and natural, Lee Kai-li (李凱莉), director of migrant affairs at the Garden of Hope Foundation, told a press conference in Taipei.

Lee said in order to learn about the stress levels experienced by migrant workers in Taiwan, the foundation conducted a survey in 2022 and found that the percentage of live-in caregivers suffering from serious mental stress was much higher than factory workers.

"This presents a grave danger not only to the migrant workers, but also to care recipients if they zone out or are emotionally unstable," she said.

Sample questions given by the Garden of Hope foundation pertained to the legal range of monthly service fees charged by labor brokers, recommended actions when one is feeling unwell, and how migrant workers can continue working in Taiwan after they have reached the 12-year stay limit.

Noting that Taiwan became a superaged society this year where one out of every five people is 65 or older, DBS Foundation head Karen Ngui (魏洪英) underlined the importance for Taiwan to recruit more caregivers, which could be achieved by caring for their mental health.

"The program is about helping societies age well. It's not just providing them (caregivers) with food and a place to sleep. You need to look after their mental well-being and make sure they socialize," Ngui, whose foundation funded the project, told CNA on the sidelines of the press event.

"I think this program is very progressive in that sense. It's about looking after the caregivers so they can look after seniors better," Ngui told CNA.

The service is being developed with the help of Georgia Institute of Technology assistant professor Kai Wang (王愷) and National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University doctoral candidate Lin Chun-hsien (林峻賢), the Garden of Hope Foundation said in a statement.

The service is scheduled to be launched in April 2026.

DBS Foundation is the charitable and philanthropic arm of DBS Bank, focused on supporting social enterprises and community initiatives across Asia.