Artificial intelligence (AI) has become a hot topic with the rise of powerful tools such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Bard, and Microsoft’s Bing. As people continue to explore the potential of this emerging technology, researchers have now discovered a way to detect colds in individuals by analysing changes in their vocal tone.
While this could be useful for identifying sickness, it could also be problematic for employees who falsely claim to have a cold in order to take time off work. If this technology becomes widespread, it may be possible for employers to use vocal analysis to determine whether an employee is genuinely ill or not.
Researchers at Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology in Surat were able to identify the presence of a cold in 111 out of 630 study participants by analysing their vocal patterns. The study relied on changes in vocal harmonics to detect irregular patterns that are associated with colds. By using machine-learning algorithms, the researchers were able to accurately identify those who had a cold with 70 per cent accuracy.
The primary goal of this research was to develop a non-invasive method for detecting colds without the need for a doctor’s visit. However, it could also be of interest to employers who want to identify employees who falsely claim to be ill.
