Diversification of Care Systems Due to Increasing Social Isolation Risks in Single-Person Households... Emotional Interaction Possible Beyond Simple AI Responses... Continued Personalized Check-in Services like 'Uri Dongne Dolbomdan' and 'Smart Plug'
Yeongdeungpo-gu (District Mayor Choi Ho-kwon) announced that it will promote an artificial intelligence (AI) check-in service to prevent solitary deaths among households at risk of social isolation.
This project is a service that regularly calls single-person households and those in need of care to check on their well-being. Once a week at a set time, AI makes a phone call to inquire about the individual's health status, meal and exercise habits, and other matters based on a total of 10 scenarios, analyzing the responses to determine whether normal daily activities are being maintained.
If any warning signs are detected, the information is reported to the local community service center to help respond to emergency situations.
In particular, starting this year, the district has applied related AI technology to enable emotional interaction through conversation rather than simple responses, improving communication methods to allow for ongoing dialogue.
Additionally, the district operates the ‘Smart Plug’ and ‘Uri Dongnae Dolbomdan’ (Our Neighborhood Care Group) projects to support the formation and recovery of social networks for isolated households.
The ‘Smart Plug’ project measures electricity and illumination levels, sending alerts to welfare planners if there is no change for a certain period, who then check on the individual via phone or visit. Monitoring is conducted year-round, 24 hours a day, to ensure residents’ safety. During daytime hours (9 a.m. to 6 p.m.), the local community service center is responsible, while at night (6 p.m. to 9 a.m.) and on holidays, private companies cooperating with the district continue monitoring.
The related ‘Uri Dongnae Dolbomdan’ project is also operated continuously. Residents familiar with the local area are selected as care group members to regularly check on single-person households at risk of solitary death by phone or visit at least once a week. Currently, there are 42 active members: 39 assigned across 18 neighborhoods in Yeongdeungpo-gu and 3 assigned to the jjokbang (small room) areas.
Choi Ho-kwon, Mayor of Yeongdeungpo-gu, stated, “We will always do our best to devise measures to alleviate residents’ loneliness and ensure a safe daily life,” and added, “If you discover any households in crisis around you, please report them immediately.”
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