Technology has taken another step in helping us with our healthcare. We can now ask digital device Alexa for advice if we are worried about our health. Alexa is virtual assistant created by website Amazon.com. It is capable of listening to people and answering their questions. As well as voice interaction capabilities, Alexa can make to-do lists, play music upon voice request, and give us latest news. Now Alexa can answer our health queries. Amazon has linked up with National Health Service (NHS) in UK to add health advice capability to software. Alexa will be able to search NHS website for information and find answer that is agreed on by many health experts.
Alexa's new health advice capability has been met with mixed response. UK Health Secretary said: "Technology like this is great example of how people can access reliable, world-leading advice from comfort of their home, reducing pressure on our hardworking doctors and pharmacists." He added: "We want to empower every patient to take better control of their healthcare." Other people say we need to be careful about trusting advice of piece of software. They say we must go to human doctor if we have serious health problems. Other people are concerned about privacy. group Big Brother Watch is worried about hacking. It said: "It's data protection disaster waiting to happen."
