AI system
- System
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AI care robot 'Kkumdori' (AI 돌봄로봇 꿈돌이), a conversational companion robot in the shape of Daejeon's mascot, with a crisis-detection algorithm linked to a 24-hour control center
- Model
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Not assessed
- Release
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Exact release not established.
- Application developer
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Not named in the 2025 reports, which say only '해당 업체' (the company) runs the control system; the 2022 pilot robots in the same mascot form were supplied by Mr. Mind (미스터마인드) under an MOU with Daejeon (ZDNet Korea, 5 April 2022)
- Role
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The robot detected signs of distress in conversation and alerted a human control center.
- Configuration
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The report describes a robot that used ChatGPT technology for conversation. Its phrase “ChatGPT 4.0” does not identify a verified model release.
- Inputs and outputs
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Not assessed
- Autonomy
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Not assessed
- Workflow
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A municipal program that put conversational robots with a crisis-word detection algorithm into 1,000 homes of people living alone, 200 per district, from January 2025. A 24-hour human control center run by the supplier that receives alerts, phones the resident, and reports to police (112) with the location. A resident who habitually talked, sang and danced with the robot, so her statements at 2 a.m. were spoken aloud to it. Police able to attend at night, and a family and hospital able to complete a protective admission the next day.
- Human oversight
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Not assessed
- Relation to AI
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The robot's crisis-detection algorithm recognized repeated danger words (“죽고 싶다”, “살려줘”) in conversation at 2 a.m. It sent an alert to a human control center. People did everything after that: the check-in call, the 112 report with location, the police visit, the family contact and the admission. The city's welfare director says the alert is what made the rapid dispatch and protection possible. Whether A would have come to harm that night is not established. Every account derives from the city's 13 August briefing.
- AI contribution
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The robot's crisis-detection algorithm recognized repeated danger words (“죽고 싶다”, “살려줘”) in conversation at 2 a.m. It sent an alert to a human control center. People did everything after that: the check-in call, the 112 report with location, the police visit, the family contact and the admission. The city's welfare director says the alert is what made the rapid dispatch and protection possible. Whether A would have come to harm that night is not established. Every account derives from the city's 13 August briefing.
Benefits
- Outcome identifiers
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Not assessed
- Benefit
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At 2 a.m. on 6 August 2025 Daejeon's Kkumdori care robot flagged a 70s woman's “I want to die”; police came and she was admitted next day.
- Category
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Improved Physical Health
- Status
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Not assessed
- Beneficiary groups
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People. Organizations.
- Beneficiaries
-
Not assessed
- Reach
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Not assessed
- Distribution and access
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Not assessed
- Duration
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Not assessed
- Expected?
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Yes
- Costs and harms
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Not assessed
Measurement
- Studies
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Not assessed
- Study design
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Not assessed
- Measurement
-
Not assessed
- Setting and sample
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Not assessed
- Measures
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Not assessed
- Comparison
-
Not assessed
- Results
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Not assessed
- Additional value from AI
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Not assessed
- Limitations
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Not assessed
- Denominators
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Not assessed
- Materials for replication
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Not assessed
Money
- Kind of value
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Not assessed
- Amount
-
Not assessed
- Currency and prices
-
Not assessed
- Period and unit
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Not assessed
- Realization
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Not assessed
- Recipients and payers
-
Not assessed
- Gross or net
-
Not assessed
- Included costs
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Not assessed
- Comparison
-
Not assessed
- Method
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Not assessed
- Return and payback
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Not assessed
People and places
- Participants
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Developer: Not named in the 2025 reports, which say only '해당 업체' (the company) runs the control system; the 2022 pilot robots in the same mascot form were supplied by Mr. Mind (미스터마인드) under an MOU with Daejeon (ZDNet Korea, 5 April 2022). Operator: Daejeon Metropolitan City (대전시), Daejeon-style community integrated care project, with the supplier's control center.
- Jurisdictions
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Benefit: Daejeon,
South Korea. Operator: South Korea. - Ownership and control
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Not assessed
- Dependencies
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Not assessed
- Cross-border connections
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Not assessed
- Geopolitical implications
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Not assessed
Follow-up
- Conditions for replication
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Alerts go to humans who act at night. The robot itself does nothing beyond detecting words and raising the alarm. The detection catches explicit statements (“죽고 싶다”, “살려줘”). A silent crisis would not trigger it. Residents keep talking to the device. Her guardian said it was a great support to her.
- Replication attempts
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2 follow-up entries. Outcome unresolved: 2.
- Later findings
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20 July 2026. Yonhap reported on 1 August 2026 that Daejeon's 1,000 care robots remain in service and that on 20 July 2026 a robot in Seo-gu relayed an 80-something's call for 119 during severe abdominal pain, with paramedics arriving at about 00:30; it recounts the 2025 Kkumdori case as an earlier example.
- Availability
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Not assessed
- Institutional decision
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Not assessed
- Grounds
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Not assessed
- Action and result
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Not assessed
- Success criterion
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Not assessed
Evidence
- Source numbers
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AIBD-0135-source-0001–0008
- Citations
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Numbered references below.
- Language
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Not assessed
- Source relationships
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Independent
- Original evidence
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Not assessed
- Access and versions
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Not assessed
- Supported findings
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Not assessed
- Evidence links
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Not assessed
- Evidence strength
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Not assessed
- Missing evidence
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Not assessed
Grades
- Assessed benefits
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People. Organizations.
- Depth
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People: 3. Organizations: 1.
- Reasons
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People: A woman in her 70s living alone, with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, was in acute crisis at 2 a.m. She got a check-in call, a police visit that night and protective hospital admission the next afternoon. The city and the headlines call it life-saving. But no attempt was reported, so the counterfactual is unproven. Her guardian said the robot being beside her was a great support. Organizations: Daejeon's welfare office gained a demonstrated case for its 1,000-robot program. Its director cited it as a model. A 2026 Yonhap report says the city will continue the policy on the strength of such cases.
- Observed or intended
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Not assessed
- Rubric
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Not assessed
- Assessor and date
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Not assessed
- Alternative assessments
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Not assessed
- Fill
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Independently reported
Entry details
- Kind
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Not assessed
- Related entries
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Not assessed
- Field
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Social welfare (home care for people living alone). Municipal elder-care robots.
- Purpose
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Daejeon issued 1,000 Kkumdori robots from January 2025, 200 per district, under its community integrated-care project. They went to elderly, disabled and low-income people living alone. They offer companionship, medication and schedule reminders and health monitoring. They detect crisis signs such as suicide risk and depression and automatically notify agencies and guardians. The alert was that function.
- Dates
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Date basis unassessed: 2025 (precision unassessed). Updated: 21 October 2026.
- Stage
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Not assessed
- Version
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SHA-256: aadaf4cc21be…
References
- Other identifiers
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oecd_aim: 2025-08-13-0c3b.
- Category mappings
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Not assessed
- Brief
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Not assessed
- Revisions
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5 revisions. Latest: 21 October 2026.
Sources
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News report Independent author
Kim Jun-beom (김준범) / Yonhap News (2025). '돌봄로봇 꿈돌이'가 우울증 앓는 70대 신고해 구조. Yonhap News Agency, Daejeon, 13 August 2025.
위험 발언을 감지한 돌봄 로봇은 해당 업체가 운영하는 관제시스템에 통보했고, 업체 측은 지구대에 현장 출동을 요청했다
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News report Independent author
Lee Bo-bae (이보배) / Hankyung (2025). 대전 마스코트 '꿈돌이' 깜짝 근황…70대 여성 목숨 구했다. The Korea Economic Daily, 13 August 2025.
보호자는 "로봇이 곁에 있어 줘서 할머니에게 큰 힘이 됐다"고 전했다
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News report Independent author
Money Today (2025). "죽고싶어" 함께 노래 부르던 할머니 이상 감지…'꿈돌이'가 구했다. Money Today, 13 August 2025.
지난 6일 새벽 2시쯤 대전 더덕구 덕암동 빌라에 홀로 거주 중인 70대 A씨는 AI 돌봄로봇 '꿈돌이'와 대화 중 "죽고 싶다", "살려줘"라는 말을 반복했다
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News report Independent author
Kyunghyang Shinmun (2025). "죽고 싶어" 반복하자…AI 돌봄로봇이 구조 요청. Kyunghyang Shinmun, 13 August 2025.
돌봄로봇이 새벽 시간 어르신의 절박한 위기 신호를 포착해 경찰과 보호자의 신속한 출동 및 보호 조치가 가능하도록 한 사례
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News report Independent author
Song Chi-hoon (송치훈) / Donga Ilbo (2025). 노인돌봄 AI가 목숨 구했다…"죽고 싶어" 말 듣고 신고. Donga Ilbo, 13 August 2025.
해당 로봇은 ChatGPT 4.0 기술이 적용돼 양방향 소통이 가능하다
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News report Independent author
Jeong Seo-yeon (정서연) / Yonhap News TV (2025). "살려줘"…우울증 환자 위험 신호 포착해 구조한 돌봄로봇 '꿈돌이'. Yonhap News TV, 13 August 2025.
꿈돌이 덕에 A 씨는 다음 날 오후 보호자 동의를 받고 안전하게 입원 조치됐습니다
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News report Independent author
Yoon Sang-eun (윤상은) / ZDNet Korea (2022). 미스터마인드, 대전광역시와 '홀로어르신 AI 돌봄로봇' MOU 체결 (reporting the company's announcement). ZDNet Korea, 5 April 2022.
대전광역시의 마스코트인 꿈돌이, 꿈순이 캐릭터로 제작된 인공지능 돌봄로봇을 보급해
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News report Independent author
Lee Jae-rim (이재림) / Yonhap News (2026). '생명 구한' AI돌봄 로봇…노인들 복통·우울증 등 위기서 역할. Yonhap News Agency, Daejeon, 1 August 2026.
대전시는 지난해 1월부터 AI 돌봄 로봇을 5개 자치구에 200대씩 보급해 총 1천대를 운용하고 있다