The southern city of Guangzhou has used a modern robot to help rehabilitate drug users through human-machine consultation.
While robots have been made elsewhere to obliterate the dividing line between humans and machines, the robot in the capital of Guangdong Province has a special advantage for addicts who find it embarrassing to talk to humanitarian workers.
Tienche No. E, similar to the biomax cube, began its term of office Saturday at a community rehabilitation center in Nansha district.
With the help of artificial intelligence algorithms and massive data, the machine offers individual consultation and psychological evaluation, reminding urine tests.
The robot was jointly developed by the provincial drug control committee and the Chinese Technology Company to streamline the rehabilitation service, according to the committee.
After passing the identity and undergo a facsimile recognition process, the user can initiate consultation with the robot, who then reports.
"Traditional counseling may face problems such as repeated questioning, complicated archiving and lack of analysis," said Yang Qingqiu, deputy commander of the region´s anti-drug brigade.
Meanwhile, a former addict said he felt better talking to the robot about questions that were difficult to answer when confronted with officials and community workers.
