How South Korea Uses A.I. to Check on Its Elderly - The New York Times
In the world’s fastest aging society, artificial intelligence is being used to make care calls to older adults who live alone and to fight dementia. By Choe Sang-Hun Reporting from Seoul, Bucheon, Seongnam and Yongin, South Korea Chung Yun-hee awoke to a body in revolt. Drenched in sweat and wracked with pain, the septuagenarian crawled into the bathroom of her small, quiet apartment on the outskirts of Seoul. She was still hunched over the toilet, vomiting, when her smartphone rang. A bright, articulate female voice asked how she was doing. Ms. Chung managed a few strained words — too sick to talk — and hung up. Help arrived anyway. The caller, an A.I. chatbot nicknamed “Talking Buddy,” immediately alerted a social worker. Within hours, Ms. Chung was in surgery for an acute hernia. “Doctors said I could have been in serious trouble had I arrived any later,” Ms. Chung, 77, recalled of the episode in late 2024. “They said A.I. saved me.” South Korea is aging faster than any oth
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