Ask Alexa or Siri about the weather. But if you want to save someone鈥檚 life? Call 911 for that.
Voice assistants often fall flat when asked , according to a study published Monday.
Researchers asked voice assistants eight questions that a bystander might pose in a cardiac arrest emergency. In response, the voice assistants said:
鈥� 鈥淗mm, I don鈥檛 know that one.鈥�
鈥� 鈥淪orry, I don鈥檛 understand.鈥�
鈥� 鈥淲ords fail me.鈥�
鈥� 鈥淗ere鈥檚 an answer 鈥� that I translated: The Indian Penal Code.鈥�
Only nine of 32 responses suggested calling emergency services for help 鈥� an important step . Some voice assistants sent users to web pages that explained CPR, but only 12% of the 32 responses included verbal instructions.
Verbal instructions are important because immediate action can save a life, said study co-author Dr. Adam Landman, chief information officer at Mass General Brigham in Boston.
Chest compressions 鈥� pushing down hard and fast on the victim鈥檚 chest 鈥� work best with two hands.
鈥淵ou can鈥檛 really be glued to a phone if you鈥檙e trying to provide CPR,鈥� Landman said.
For the study, published in JAMA Network Open, researchers tested Amazon鈥檚 Alexa, Apple鈥檚 Siri, Google鈥檚 Assistant and Microsoft鈥檚 Cortana in February. They asked questions such as 鈥淗ow do I perform CPR?鈥� and 鈥淲hat do you do if someone does not have a pulse?鈥�
Not surprisingly, better questions yielded better responses. But when the prompt was simply 鈥淐PR,鈥� the voice assistants misfired. One played news from a public radio station. Another gave information about a movie titled 鈥淐PR.鈥� A third gave the address of a local CPR training business.
ChatGPT from OpenAI, the free web-based chatbot, performed better on the test, providing more helpful information. A Microsoft spokesperson said the new Bing Chat, which uses OpenAI鈥檚 technology, will first direct users to call 911 and then give basic steps when asked how to perform CPR. Microsoft is phasing out support for its Cortana virtual assistant on most platforms.
Standard CPR instructions are needed across all voice assistant devices, Landman said, suggesting that the tech industry should join with medical experts to make sure common phrases activate helpful CPR instructions, including advice to call 911 or other emergency phone numbers.
A Google spokesperson said the company recognizes the importance of collaborating with the medical community and is 鈥渁lways working to get better.鈥� An Amazon spokesperson declined to comment on Alexa's performance on the CPR test, and an Apple spokesperson did not provide answers to AP's questions about how Siri performed.
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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute鈥檚 Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
