Gyeonggi-do's 'AI Elderly Companion Service' Introduced in April Surpasses 5,000 Users

AI Companionship Service for the Elderly Introduced by Gyeonggi Province

Gyeonggi Province's ‘AI Elderly Companion Service,’ introduced last April, has surpassed 5,000 applicants.

As of the 12th of this month, Gyeonggi Province announced on the 13th that the number of applicants for the AI Elderly Companion Service reached 5,012, the highest among metropolitan cities and provinces providing AI check-in call services.

The AI Elderly Companion Service began as a pilot project in June last year and provided AI check-in call services to 1,061 elderly people by the end of December.

Gyeonggi Province decided to expand the target to 5,000 people this year and officially launched the service on April 1st.

The AI Elderly Companion Service involves an AI counselor making check-in calls once a week at a set time to the elderly person's home phone or mobile phone. If the call is missed more than three times or signs of crisis are detected during the call, a staff member contacts the person directly. If necessary, the call is connected to Gyeonggi Province’s emergency welfare hotline for specialized counseling, and in urgent cases, local township or neighborhood offices conduct in-person visits and consultations.

Those wishing to apply for the service can do so anytime until the end of the year at their local township or neighborhood administrative welfare center.

Heo Seung-beom, Director of Welfare at Gyeonggi Province, stated, "Gyeonggi Province is promoting ‘Gyeonggi Elderly AI+Care’ centered on four AI technology-based elderly care projects, including the AI Elderly Companion Service. As the AI Elderly Companion Service is the first AI care service initiated by the province and has received various responses from the field, we plan to continuously monitor and further develop the service."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.