A new study published on Monday revealed that voice assistants like Google Assistant, Siri and Alexa may not be very helpful when it comes to providing CPR instructions. The study found that only 59% of voice assistant responses actually included information related to cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and only about one third gave actual CPR instructions.
The study and its findings
The study was conducted by researchers from Mass General Brigham, a health care system affiliated with Harvard Medical School. They asked eight questions related to CPR instructions of four popular voice assistants: Amazon Alexa on Echo Show 5, Apple Siri on iPhone, Google Assistant on Nest Mini, and Microsoft Cortana on a Windows 10 laptop. They used transcripts to assess the accuracy and relevance of the responses, and compared them with the guidelines from the American Heart Association (AHA).
The results showed that the voice assistants often lacked relevance and consistency in their answers. For example, when asked “How do I do CPR?”, only Google Assistant provided a link to a video with CPR instructions, while the others either gave irrelevant information or did not answer at all. When asked “How do I use an AED?”, only Siri and Alexa gave correct information, while Google Assistant and Cortana did not mention an automated external defibrillator (AED) at all.
The researchers also found that the voice assistants sometimes gave incorrect or outdated information. For example, when asked “How many compressions per minute should I do?”, Siri and Cortana gave the old recommendation of 100 compressions per minute, while the current AHA guideline is 100 to 120 compressions per minute. When asked “How deep should I push when doing chest compressions?”, only Google Assistant gave the correct answer of at least two inches for adults, while the others either gave wrong answers or did not answer at all.
The importance of knowing CPR
The researchers emphasized that bystanders should not rely on voice assistants for medical information, especially in emergency situations like cardiac arrest. They advised that bystanders should prioritize calling emergency services 911 if they see a patient that is suspected of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, and follow the dispatcher’s instructions.
They also stressed the importance of knowing CPR and how to use an AED, as these skills can save lives. According to the AHA, every day, about 960 people in the US have a cardiac arrest, and less than 10% of them survive. However, if CPR is performed in the first few minutes of cardiac arrest, it can double or triple a person’s chance of survival.
The AHA offers CPR courses and resources on its website to help people learn and practice CPR and AED use. It also encourages people to share the information and make sure others around them are familiar as well. “This is important information because the life you save will likely be of someone who you know or love,” said Dr. Comilla Sasson, vice president for science and innovation at the AHA and a practicing emergency medicine physician.
A possible future for technology
The researchers acknowledged that voice assistants have great potential to provide useful information and assistance in various domains, but they also pointed out some limitations and challenges. They suggested that voice assistant manufacturers should work with credible organizations like the AHA to ensure that their devices give accurate and up-to-date information related to CPR and other medical topics.
They also envisioned a future where voice assistants could play a more active role in helping bystanders perform CPR and use AEDs. For example, they imagined that voice assistants could detect cardiac arrest by analyzing sounds or vital signs, call 911 automatically, provide real-time feedback on CPR quality, locate nearby AEDs, or even activate drones to deliver AEDs.
However, they also noted that such scenarios would require more research and development, as well as ethical and legal considerations. They concluded that voice assistants are not ready to replace human intervention or guidance in CPR situations, but they could be useful tools to complement them.
