The SFU implemented a virtual assistant on the basis of AI of IBM for answers to questions on subject COVID-19

2020: Start of the chat-bot on the portal

On April 13, 2020 it became known that for the purpose of increase in efficiency of the measures against COVID-19 coronavirus taken by state bodies of the Russian Federation, the Southern Federal University started on the website sfedu.ru/the virtual assistant-informant (chat-bot) based on solution AI of IBM Watson Assistant for Citizens available in a public cloud.

Thanks to this information service any employee and the student in SFU and also the visitor of the website will be able quickly to receive the interesting him official, specialized and verified information on COVID-19 including concerning the measures for warning of spread of a koronavirusny infection undertaken by the university.

The virtual assistant configured with the assistance of service division of IBM Services understands the questions formulated in a natural language and communicates with users in a format of written dialog. The artificial intelligence allows the assistant to study on own experience thanks to the machine learning, neural networks and help databases which are in a public cloud of IBM. The more the virtual assistant interacts with people, the better it understands them and more precisely answers. In an initial status the assistant contained in the knowledge base 100 scenarios of dialog and over 1500 standard questions including provided to SFU.

Further the Southern Federal University is going to expand subject of questions due to inclusion of replies of the Government of the Rostov region of countermeasures of spread of a koronavirusny infection and to provide this service on its web resources, notes the rector of the university Inna Shevchenko

Virtual assistants very much are suitable for mass and at the same time the personalized informing citizens while they actively look for answers and councils for fight against COVID-19, told Iris Dzeba, the CEO of IBM in Russia and the CIS