The Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced on the 24th that it will implement a project to monitor crisis households using artificial intelligence (AI) phones starting this year.
This project aims to periodically check on the well-being of those who have not applied for welfare services, including elderly individuals living alone, through AI phone calls. Welfare officials will analyze the responses from the AI phone calls and provide necessary welfare services after conducting home visits if needed.
The local governments selected by the government this time include ▲ Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul ▲ Sasang-gu, Busan ▲ Daedeok-gu and Jung-gu, Daejeon ▲ Wonju-si, Gangwon ▲ Chungju-si, Chungcheongbuk-do ▲ Cheonan-si and Geumsan-gun, Chungcheongnam-do ▲ Namwon-si, Jeollabuk-do ▲ Gyeongju-si and Gumi-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do ▲ Sancheong-gun, Geoje-si, and Changnyeong-gun, Gyeongsangnam-do ▲ Jeju City and Seogwipo City, Jeju.
The number of local governments participating has increased by 12 compared to those that were part of the existing pilot project. Previously, the government conducted a pilot project for AI phone-based monitoring of crisis households with about 4,000 people in four local governments, including Suwon and Bucheon in Gyeonggi Province and Jeonju in Jeollabuk-do and Gyeongju in Gyeongsangbuk-do, from October 2023 to October of last year.
Gu Bon-geun, head of the Smart Welfare Safety Community Promotion Team at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, noted, "We will actively support local governments so that they can carefully look after residents using AI technology."