A Bi-lingual chatbot implementation for pandemic response using the transformer-based approach

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Artificial Intelligence
• Natural Language Processing

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the need for reliable information dissemination.
• Misinformation on public platforms complicated pandemic management, requiring significant human resources.
• A scalable solution was needed to provide trustworthy, real-time health information.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an intelligent, bilingual chatbot for pandemic information.
• To provide 24/7 access to medically curated information in English and Luganda.
• To leverage AI to combat health misinformation and improve public health communication.

Main Methods:

• Developed a deep learning-based chatbot trained on a corpus of pandemic information.
• Utilized Natural Language Processing (NLP) frameworks for bilingual capabilities.
• Implemented a conversation-driven development approach for continuous improvement.

Main Results:

• Successfully implemented a chatbot providing accurate pandemic information in English and Luganda.
• Demonstrated the chatbot's ability to leverage English NLP for Luganda language interaction.
• Showcased the chatbot as an effective tool for real-time information dissemination.

Conclusions:

• The developed chatbot is an effective and flexible tool for managing pandemic information.
• AI-powered chatbots can significantly enhance public health communication during crises.
• Continuous improvement through user interaction ensures the chatbot's ongoing relevance and accuracy.