Since the invention of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, generative AI has become the hype these days across sectors. With each upgradation of new models, ChatGPT offers tremendous potential and opportunities that keep people attracted to it. ChatGPT kickstarted the revolution of generative AI to an extent. Significantly, the ChatGPT model never gets overrated, as users worldwide are coming up with creative ideas for prompts. According to UBS research, ChatGPT is the fastest-growing consumer application in history. 

Amidst the number of use cases and applications, The Portuguese National Institute of Medical Emergency (INEM) plans to implement a ChatGPT-powered virtual assistant named Voicebot 112 to answer calls to the emergency number in 2025. 

According to Lusa, one of the biggest news agencies in Portugal, Antonio Pombeiro, the deputy secretary general of the Internal Administration, stated that AI will be the first point of contact for callers of the 112 emergency line. 

Minimising the emergency hassles with AI 

The system predominantly helps during the time of overload to reduce pressure and inconvenience in the operational service centres. The chatbot aids in screening the calls and making respective emergency routing for INEM, police force, and fire force when the operators are busy. 

Pombeiro said that this attempt could be of great significance during busy periods when callers have to wait five to six minutes to receive to get a response; during urban fires, many people will be waiting in line to report the same situation, which can be time-consuming for police. 

“In certain situations, we have to wait periods due to the great number of calls. This happens when there are incidents that involve a lot of publicity, a lot of people watching what is happening, and everyone has the initiative to call 112”, he added.  

Here the AI system will respond to the emergency calls first through natural language response to assess the type of problem the caller is reporting, Portugal News stated. This 112 voice bot is intended to reinforce the operational means, specifically during peak demand for emergency lines.

The Portuguese emergency line reportedly answers around nine million calls per year. Hence these 112 services in Portugal are expected to undergo significant changes with an investment of 11.5 million euros within the next five years. As Portugal is the second country with the greatest number of fake calls, 112 in 2021, as per the report by the European Commission, this attempt will reduce the waiting time during peak calls, minimise abandoned calls and detects fake calls.

The implementation

The Portuguese system resources are designed for normal situations, which results in longer waiting times to answer calls that can extend to five or six minutes. Hence, this idea is to create a first interface that answers the call, evaluate the problem, and report in natural language. The caller will not be able to realise that he is communicating to a chatbot that uses ChatGPT and still undergoes a period of testing with simulated calls. The second part will always be human. 

Portugal being an attractive tourist spot, the ability of the 112 voicebot to detect languages automatically is impressive. Everyone will be able to communicate with the virtual assistant easily. This is crucial in making the technologically advanced emergency service available to the non-Portuguese in the country. The investment in this project reflects the significance of efficient and effective emergency services in the process of ensuring the safety and well-being of the public. 

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