A 9-year-old Haitian boy who speaks only French was found alone in Farroupilha, in Serra Gaúcha. Military police used ChatGPT to translate questions, obtain clues about the address, and help him return home, according to g1.
The incident took place on Saturday afternoon (17), after a resident called the Military Brigade on the 190 emergency line. Frightened and unable to speak Portuguese, the boy needed time to trust the officers and communicate.
Police used artificial intelligence translation to obtain information and help a child reunite with their family. – Image: Reproduction/Military Brigade
ChatGPT helped the officers communicate with the boy
Soldier Rafael Tondollo and Sergeant Jeferson Maurício Espinoza Carrets responded to the call. Noticing that the language barrier made communication difficult, they turned to ChatGPT to translate spoken questions, including: “Which school do you attend?”
The answer helped the team identify a landmark to look for the home.The police officers headed to the school area, and along the way, the boy recognized the streets and began pointing out the route.
Tondollo said that gaining the child’s trust was one of the main difficulties at the beginning of the approach. “Since he was very scared, it was quite difficult and time-consuming to start a dialogue. We needed some time for him to trust us and feel safe talking to us,” the soldier reported.
Boy recognized the route home
The child identified his own home when the police vehicle was still almost a block away. “When we arrived on his street, he opened the vehicle door with his house still almost a block away. He was very happy to return home,” Tondollo told g1.
The parents were not at the home, but a neighbor managed to contact the father, who returned shortly afterward. According to the officer, the family was shopping at a grocery store downtown when the boy said he was going to the bathroom and ran out the door toward the street.
Upon realizing their son had disappeared, the parents began looking for him. After exhausting the possible places to search, they continued on foot toward home, where they managed to find him again.
Child was alone for about one hour
According to the Military Brigade, the boy was found approximately 1.5 kilometers from the store where he was with his parents. He was alone for about one hour and sustained no injuries.
The artificial intelligence tool did not automatically identify the child’s address.ChatGPT helped police officers translate questions and obtain information about the school; based on this reference, the journey and the boy’s own recognition of the streets made it possible to reach the family’s home.
Valdir Antonelli is a journalist specializing in digital marketing and consumer studies.
