Asking your Amazon Alexa this question could put you in a seriously dangerous situation
Best to leave it to the professionals
Many of us turn to our home-based voice assistants for all kinds of weird and wonderful questions. They're great for checking the weather, setting timers and getting live sports updates.
But maybe these advanced AI devices should be kept for trivial matters and nothing more.
In fact, tech experts have put together a list of things you should never say to Alexa or Siri when it comes to things like asking how to handle finances or any illegal queries.
A big one to avoid also is asking Alexa for help during a medical emergency.
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A study from earlier this year showed that when researchers asked voice assistants about cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), only 59% of the responses actually included relevant information, and only about a third provided clear CPR instructions.
Lead study author Dr Adam Landman, chief information officer and senior vice president of digital at Mass General Brigham, spoke to CNN: “We found that when we asked questions related to cardiopulmonary resuscitation to AI voice assistants, (the answers) really lacked relevance and even came back with inconsistencies.”
The research team tested eight CPR-related questions on different devices, involving Amazon's Alexa, Apple Siri, Google Assistant, and Microsoft Cortana.
Two emergency medicine doctors then evaluated the answers.
Commenting on the results, Dr. Landman explained that people shouldn't rely on voice assistants for medical help. Instead, people should call emergency services right away (UK: 999 or US: 911).
But it’s not all doom and gloom as the medical professional believes that technology could help in the future.
“If we can take that appropriate evidence-based content and work with the tech companies to incorporate it, I think there’s a real opportunity to immediately improve the quality of those instructions,” he added.
Before this happens, the NHS is a reliable website to seek medical advice. One piece of advice states that those who aren’t trained in CPR should stick to ‘hands-only CPR’.
In terms of how to perform a chest compression, the NHS states to:
- Kneel next to the person and place the heel of one hand on the centre (breastbone) of their chest.
- Place your other hand on top and interlock your fingers.
- Position your shoulders directly above your hands.
- Using your body weight, press straight down by 5 to 6 cm (2 to 2.5 inches) on their chest.
- Keeping your hands on their chest, release the compression and let their chest return to its original position.
- Repeat these compressions at a rate of 100 to 120 times per minute until help arrives or you can’t continue.
If in any doubt, it's always best to seek professional help.