[ad_1]
FILE PHOTO: A man in a protective mask walks past a sign saying “Courage” in Paris as a blockade is imposed to reduce the rate of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in France, April 25 2020. REUTERS / Gonzalo Fuentes / File Photo
PARIS (Reuters) – French researchers launched a voice assistant on Monday that can help callers with potential coronavirus symptoms and direct them to emergency services or their doctors using artificial intelligence.
Anyone in France can now call the “AlloCovid” service developed by the French research institute INRIA, the University of Paris and the French railway company SNCF, the group said.
On the line, a female voice greets callers with “Bonjour, I’m your AlloCovid virtual assistant … Are you ready to start the quiz?”
Callers are asked for their zip code but not their name. Depending on your pre-existing symptoms and conditions, they are directed to the right professionals.
Developers hope that the voice assistant, which is more accessible to older people who prefer phones than mobile apps or forms, will help authorities detect new infection clusters after France closes the shutdown on May 11 .
The system can handle 1,000 calls at a time. Caller information is anonymously sent to health authorities and held for seven days before being destroyed.
“As far as we know, this is the first time that artificial intelligence has been used to serve public health,” Professor Xavier Jouven, who heads the project, told the Le Monde newspaper.
The “AlloCovid” number is separate from the “StopCovid” mobile contact tracking application that the government wants to launch.
Report by Michel Rose; Editing by Giles Elgood
