‘Alice’. Innovation is also in Portugal
With the development of artificial intelligence (AI) on a global level, Portugal does not seem to be behind the technological vanguard.
Rui Lopes is the founder of Agentifai and the creator of ‘Alice’, a digital assistant that was considered, this year, the first voice artificial intelligence program in the world to be used in hospitals to schedule appointments.
The startup based in Braga received an investment of 10 million euros by the Next Tech Fund and has been talking about the potential of artificial intelligence in several areas.
Contrary to recurring ideas, Rui Lopes, the company’s current CEO, refers to i that “the role of AI is not to replace, but to add value”, arguing that numerous functions where AI can be applied “are in repetitive jobs that cause enormous human wear”. Recognize, even so, that technology will experience a profound mutation in the structure of the market and that people will be forced to specialize in new areas of qualification and “try to find new skills” that fit what is required by new trends.
Alice is currently available at Lusíadas hospitals and in the Caixa Geral de Depósitos application.
With regard to the health sector, Rui Lopes defines the program as a communication platform, “with voice and writing features” that allows “scheduling patients’ appointments in the specialties they need, while simultaneously checking the user’s insurance and time of the respective doctor”. In addition, “it establishes a telephone connection with the person suggesting an appointment, if your hospital history indicates that it is the right time to reschedule” and has as its main advantages “being an immediate service mechanism, which does not require time of waiting on the telephone line and which provides cost reductions, since most contacts with the patient are the responsibility of the digital assistant”.
In the area of banking, the creator of ‘Alice’ describes the computer program as a versatile and dynamic tool that also “resorts to oral and written communication”, and which is available to execute most of the functionalities of the bank application, such as “transactions and bank consultations, payment of services and MB WAY transactions”.