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Google, Amazon, J&J Join WHO to Fight Covid-Era Smoking


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An avatar of AI-powered digital health worker persona Florence.

Google, Amazon, and Johnson & Johnson have joined the World Health Organization effort to combat the global Covid-19 pandemic's threat to smokers, in part with artificial intelligence.

Credit: Soul Machines

Google, Amazon, and Johnson & Johnson have joined the World Health Organization (WHO) effort to combat the global Covid-19 pandemic's threat to smokers, partly with artificial intelligence (AI).

The joint Access Initiative for Quitting Tobacco program includes nicotine patches and AI-driven support to help smokers quit at once.

New Zealand technology company Soul Machines contributed to the program "Florence," an AI-powered digital health worker persona that helps with mental aspects of addiction.

Soul Machines' Greg Cross said Florence can be accessed worldwide via WHO's website, and he credits its effectiveness to its elimination of fear of human judgment among users.

WHO said the program will launch with a pilot in Jordan, which has some of the highest tobacco use rates in the world, followed by an eventual rollout to other countries.

From Bloomberg
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Abstracts Copyright © 2020 SmithBucklin, Washington, DC, USA


 

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