True story from today: I have a close family member in hospital at the moment, so I have been spending some time there. I will not name the hospital.
While sitting with my family member, I overheard a staff member taking a phone call. The caller seemed to need something simple: help finding the right department or reaching the right person, but the conversation sounded tense, angry. The staff member did not come across as patient or helpful, though I only heard one side of the call.
Immediately, experiencing this, and maybe because of my work-bias, I had an idea that felt obvious to me at that time: perhaps this is exactly the kind of situation where a well-designed AI voice assistant could make things better for everyone.
It is not technically impossible, or difficult, I think, to create a voice-bot for a well-funded hospital that will help with questions like:
- Which department should I call?
- What are the visiting hours?
- How do I get there?
- Can you put me through to the right extension?
- What information do I need before I arrive?
Also it could speak clearly in Polish and other languages (like English and Ukrainian, that would be a great quality upgrade for non-Polish speakers living in Poland). What is more important, a bot could, if done correctly, stay calm when a caller is upset, and transfer complex or sensitive situations to a person.
The benefits I see
- shorter queues
- less pressure on overstretched teams
- more patient-first experience for worried families
- answers at 3 a.m. in your own language, on a Christmas Day too
Healthcare, especially in Europe, is not a place for casual AI deployment: privacy, safety, clear escalation, and human oversight matter. But the basic idea feels worth taking seriously: use AI for routine friction, so people in a hospital have more capacity for the human moments.
Some time ago, during one of the AI-breakfast events in Poznań, organized by Anna Proch, I met an AI expert who was talking about a similar project for hospitals in Spain, so I’m glad that this is happening.
I’m not writing this to provide my naive critique, or moral condemnation of some inpatient people working in hospitals. On the contrary, they have my utmost respect and gratitude. But I, maybe AI-pilled, see this as a clear chance where AI could make a positive difference.
Sometimes, when talking about AI, we tend to focus on “curing the cancers” or “AGI”, but the real, tangible, life-changing experience is a well designed, multilingual voice bot at your local hospital.
Do let me know if you share this perspective.
