Who is Theano?
Theano is the conversational agent (CA) of Athena Research and Innovation Center, aiming to disseminate accurate information concerning COVID-19 in Greek. Developed by the researchers of the Institute for Language and Speech Processing with state-of-the-art Artificial Intelligence technologies, Theano is now being tested and will soon be released in its first official version.
Chatbots are conversational systems that help the communication between a person and a computer. They are most commonly used by companies that aim to simplify their customer service, but there are chatbots for almost everything (from psychological support to food orders).
The next step in the development of Theano is to perfect the voice version to be available for everyone.
How can Artificial Intelligence contribute to the dissemination of information about COVID-19?
Theano aims to keep citizens well informed about the progress of the pandemic based on experts' advice and reduce panic by offering the possibility of self-assessment of their symptoms.
Theano provides updates about numbers of cases and deaths in Greece, abroad, and worldwide. The CA is also informed about the availability of Intensive Care Units and the progress of vaccinations in Greece. It covers a plethora of frequently asked questions, such as where COVID-19 started, how it is transmitted, which is the correct use of the mask, etc.
In addition, Theano finds pharmacies for all the cities in Greece, while with six simple questions, like a small diagnostic test, the CA helps users self-assess their symptoms.
Talk to Theano!
AI dialogue systems follow Deep Learning methods: the more they interact with users, the better they learn. In other words, dialogue systems become better with the passage of time and users' interactions.
You can help the team of the Institute for Language and Speech Processing just by discussing with Theano!
If you have any questions or you are interested in learning more about Theano, contact us at theano[at]athenarc.gr!
Fun fact: I have the same name as Theano of Crotone. Theano was the most famous Ancient Greek woman scientist, a member of the Pythagorean