Singapore’s Ministry of Health (MOH) has taken down a chatbot tool after it dispensed a series of “misaligned” responses – including safe sex advice – to questions about Covid-19 concerns. The gaffes were widely shared online.
When the artificial intelligence-powered chatbot, called ‘Ask Jamie’, was asked what to do by a parent whose daughter had tested positive for the virus, it replied, “You should practise safe sex through the correct and consistent use of condoms, or abstinence, for at least the whole duration of your female partner’s pregnancy.”
Screenshots of similar errors appeared online earlier this week, even spawning a dedicated Reddit post that prompted jokes about Covid-19 becoming an STD (sexually transmitted disease) and humorous comparisons between the chatbot and the Skynet computer in the ‘Terminator’ movie franchise.
In response to a query about where a Singapore resident could get an ART (antigen rapid test), the chatbot offered an unrelated answer about how “the polio vaccine is available at polyclinics, private clinics as well as travellers clinics”.
If the question was phrased differently, however, the chatbot would apparently provide the appropriate advice – for the Covid-positive person to remain calm and stay at their place of accommodation or designated health facility while waiting for “necessary transport arrangements” to the hospital.
#Singapore Ministry of Health (MOH) has temporarily disabled the “Ask Jamie” chatbot on its website as of Monday (Oct 4), after screenshots of the chatbot dispensing safe sex advice in response to Covid-19 queries began circulating online.https://t.co/kqgvrPfEX5pic.twitter.com/8C7A54S3tD
On account of the “misaligned” replies, the MOH told local media outlets it had “temporarily disabled” the chatbot on Monday to “conduct a thorough system check and work on improvements.” According to media reports, however, Ask Jamie remains functional on several other government sites.
The chatbot was developed by the country’s Government Technology Agency (GovTech) in 2014 and is deployed on 70 government agency websites. During the pandemic, GovTech reportedly encouraged residents to use the tool – touted by one software provider as the “world’s first Whole of Government Virtual Assistant” – for Covid-related concerns.
It apparently uses natural language processing (NLP) technology to “understand” a question and pull out the most relevant answer from the respective government agency’s website or database.
Among the benefits of using Ask Jamie listed on GovTech’s website are the “greater convenience and accessibility to the government” it offers, the promise of “quick and direct answers to queries” and a “better user experience through conversational digital interactions.”
However, tech news outlet Techwire Asia noted that GovTech is planning to replace the chatbot with a “next-generation virtual assistant platform” called VICA (short for Virtual Intelligent Chat Assistant) in the near future. The new tool is reportedly already controlling chatbots on the Singaporean government’s website and Covid-19 WhatsApp channels.
Meanwhile, the MOH has instructed residents to look to the government’s official Covid-19 portal for assistance with further queries.
Like this story? Share it with a friend!
source: RT
Împotriva articolelor redacției noastre, persoanele nemulțumite pot formula Contestație în termen de 10 zile de la publicarea articolului, la judecătoria Orășenească nr. 1 München Bayern Deutschland, in conformitate cu Legea federală Germană. Considerăm că nu se pot formula acțiuni la instanțele din România deoarece nici o persoană care activează în trustul nostru nu poate fi extrasă de sub jurisdicția federală germană. Considerăm că redacția noastră nu răspunde în fața autorităților din România ci doar celor federale sau civile germane. deoarece legea română nu are efecte de extraneitate asupra redacției chiar dacă subiectul știrilor face obiectul unor evenimente sau persoane din România și sunt scrise în limba română. Limba română nu este izvor de extraneitate a legii.
absolvent WEB DESIGN Academia Britanică de Comunicare Iasi - absolvent COMUNICARE IN AFACERI Academia Britanica de Afaceri si Comunicare -absolvent JURNALISM EDITORIAL - London School University - 2019 inscris la echivalare diploma la Universitatea Politehnica Timisoara - absolvent studii de Drept Universitatea Europeană Drăgan, cursuri in Drept la Universitatea de Vest Timisoara, absolvent studii de proiectare, pastor coordonator in Biserica Protestanta Evanghelica,
Android Developer pe Google Play și plugin developer la Oxwall, creator de teme Wordpress și Oxwall, operator Wordpress, Drupal, Oxwall, Osclass, Moodle, tehnologii HTML și PHP
The investigation followed whistleblower allegations about the use of counterfeit items in ‘most, if not all’ plants An unspecified number of US nuclear power plants contain counterfeit parts that could potentially lead to “serious” safety risks, an investigation by the federal nuclear industry watchdog has found. The new report revealed that the Energy Department (DOE) […]
Australia has accomplished its goal of fully vaccinating 80% of people aged 16 and older, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said as the country eases Covid-19 restrictions. “We did it! We have hit the target of 80% of all Australians aged 16+ fully vaccinated, as set out in the National Plan,” Morrison announced on Facebook. […]
Former junior transport minister says she was told her faith was “making colleagues uncomfortable,” before being fired British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has ordered a formal inquiry into an allegation by former junior transport minister Nusrat Ghani that she lost her job in early 2020 because she’s Muslim. Johnson “takes these claims very seriously” and […]
