COVID-19 and the secret virtual assistants: the social weapons for a state of emergency [version 1; peer review: 2 approved, 1 not approved]
Technologies are ubiquitous in modern Britain, gradually infiltrating many areas of our working and personal lives. But what role can technology play in the current COVID-19 pandemic? At a time when our usual face to face social interactions are temporarily suspended, many of us have reached out to...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Emerald Publishing
2020-04-01
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| Series: | Emerald Open Research |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://emeraldopenresearch.com/articles/2-19/v1 |
| _version_ | 1828340550437175296 |
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| author | Deborah Morgan Laura Sheerman Charles Musselwhite Hannah R. Marston |
| author_facet | Deborah Morgan Laura Sheerman Charles Musselwhite Hannah R. Marston |
| author_sort | Deborah Morgan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Technologies are ubiquitous in modern Britain, gradually infiltrating many areas of our working and personal lives. But what role can technology play in the current COVID-19 pandemic? At a time when our usual face to face social interactions are temporarily suspended, many of us have reached out to technology (e.g. Skype, WhatsApp, Facebook, Zoom) to help maintain a sense of closeness and connection to friends, family and vital services. One largely unsung technology is the virtual assistant (VA), a cost-efficient technology enabling users to access the Internet of Things using little more than voice. Deploying an ecological framework, in the context of smart age-friendly cities, this paper explores how VA technology can function as an emergency response system, providing citizens with systems to connect with friends, family, vital services and offering assistance in the diagnosis of COVID-19. We provide an illustration of the potentials and challenges VAs present, concluding stricter regulation and controls should be implemented before VAs can be safely integrated into smart age-friendly cities across the globe. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T22:57:43Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7395cd268ad8406fa57428008488e02f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2631-3952 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T22:57:43Z |
| publishDate | 2020-04-01 |
| publisher | Emerald Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Emerald Open Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-7395cd268ad8406fa57428008488e02f2022-12-22T02:25:57ZengEmerald PublishingEmerald Open Research2631-39522020-04-01214642COVID-19 and the secret virtual assistants: the social weapons for a state of emergency [version 1; peer review: 2 approved, 1 not approved]Deborah Morgan0Laura Sheerman1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1910-6601Charles Musselwhite2Hannah R. Marston3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8018-4166Centre for Innovative Ageing, Swansea University, Swansea, SA2 8PP, United KingdomCentre for Innovative Ageing, Swansea University, Swansea, SA2 8PP, United KingdomCentre for Innovative Ageing, Swansea University, Swansea, SA2 8PP, United KingdomCentre for Innovative Ageing, Swansea University, Swansea, SA2 8PP, United KingdomTechnologies are ubiquitous in modern Britain, gradually infiltrating many areas of our working and personal lives. But what role can technology play in the current COVID-19 pandemic? At a time when our usual face to face social interactions are temporarily suspended, many of us have reached out to technology (e.g. Skype, WhatsApp, Facebook, Zoom) to help maintain a sense of closeness and connection to friends, family and vital services. One largely unsung technology is the virtual assistant (VA), a cost-efficient technology enabling users to access the Internet of Things using little more than voice. Deploying an ecological framework, in the context of smart age-friendly cities, this paper explores how VA technology can function as an emergency response system, providing citizens with systems to connect with friends, family, vital services and offering assistance in the diagnosis of COVID-19. We provide an illustration of the potentials and challenges VAs present, concluding stricter regulation and controls should be implemented before VAs can be safely integrated into smart age-friendly cities across the globe.https://emeraldopenresearch.com/articles/2-19/v1Ecosystem Age-friendly Emergency Response Technology Society Alerteng |
| spellingShingle | Deborah Morgan Laura Sheerman Charles Musselwhite Hannah R. Marston COVID-19 and the secret virtual assistants: the social weapons for a state of emergency [version 1; peer review: 2 approved, 1 not approved] Emerald Open Research Ecosystem Age-friendly Emergency Response Technology Society Alert eng |
| title | COVID-19 and the secret virtual assistants: the social weapons for a state of emergency [version 1; peer review: 2 approved, 1 not approved] |
| title_full | COVID-19 and the secret virtual assistants: the social weapons for a state of emergency [version 1; peer review: 2 approved, 1 not approved] |
| title_fullStr | COVID-19 and the secret virtual assistants: the social weapons for a state of emergency [version 1; peer review: 2 approved, 1 not approved] |
| title_full_unstemmed | COVID-19 and the secret virtual assistants: the social weapons for a state of emergency [version 1; peer review: 2 approved, 1 not approved] |
| title_short | COVID-19 and the secret virtual assistants: the social weapons for a state of emergency [version 1; peer review: 2 approved, 1 not approved] |
| title_sort | covid 19 and the secret virtual assistants the social weapons for a state of emergency version 1 peer review 2 approved 1 not approved |
| topic | Ecosystem Age-friendly Emergency Response Technology Society Alert eng |
| url | https://emeraldopenresearch.com/articles/2-19/v1 |
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