HAMPTON ROADS, Va. — Artificial intelligence is often associated with automation, productivity, and efficiency. But a new international project involving a Hampton Roads technology leader is demonstrating how AI can also be used to expand access to information, safety, and support for underserved women and communities.
Gerry White, Dean of Academic Technology at ECPI University and Human-Centered AI Lead for the Hampton Roads Chapter of the AI Collective, is collaborating with partners in Belém, Brazil, to develop MariasBot, a secure AI-powered platform designed to provide women experiencing abuse, violence, or crisis with confidential access to information, safety planning, and local support services.
The initiative is focused on addressing one of the greatest challenges facing many women in the Brazilian Amazon: access to trusted information, support services, and resources. In remote and Indigenous communities, support organizations, healthcare providers, and legal services may be difficult to reach due to geography, transportation, or limited operating hours. MariasBot aims to provide a trusted first point of contact available 24 hours a day while helping connect users to trusted organizations and human support networks.
Priscilla Canaan, Lead of the AI Collective Belém Amazon Brazil Chapter, said the collaboration grew directly out of the AI Collective’s international network.
“I met Gerry through the AI Collective, where he taught about the future of education at one of our events,” Canaan said. “He has since become deeply involved in the development of our social project, MariasBot, which is designed to serve as a first touchpoint for women caught in the cycle of violence. The platform uses AI and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) to provide support grounded in the Maria da Penha Law, World Health Organization protocols, and safety indicators related to imminent or actual violence.”
The platform is being designed with privacy, security, and ethical AI at its core. Rather than relying on unrestricted internet searches, MariasBot will use a curated knowledge base of verified legal information, community resources, healthcare guidance, and support services. Future plans also include multilingual support, voice accessibility, secure personal safety planning, and an evidence vault for users who choose to document incidents privately.
Beyond immediate assistance, anonymized data generated through the platform could help partner organizations identify service gaps, regional trends, and unmet needs, providing valuable insights to guide future public policy and community initiatives while protecting individual privacy.
White’s involvement reflects a growing emphasis within Hampton Roads on using artificial intelligence to address meaningful community challenges. MariasBot is also part of an emerging collaboration between the Hampton Roads Chapter of the AI Collective and the AI Collective chapter in Belém, Brazil, bringing together educators, technologists, and AI practitioners to develop human-centered technology that expands access to trusted support for women.
For White, projects like MariasBot represent a different way of thinking about artificial intelligence.
“Artificial intelligence shouldn’t only be measured by how much work it can automate. Its greatest impact may come from helping people reach the support they need when barriers like geography, time, or limited resources stand in the way,” White said.
MariasBot represents the first generation of a broader human-centered AI platform that will continue to evolve through collaboration with local organizations, legal experts, healthcare providers, and technology partners. As development continues, the platform is expected to expand access to trusted information, community resources, and support services for women across the Brazilian Amazon while laying the foundation for similar human-centered AI initiatives that could one day support women in underserved communities around the world.
