Eyewitness News' CeFaan Kim exclusively spoke to 75-year-old Sungja Lee about the device and how it saved her.
Lee said she got the device for free from New York State.
Lee said she lives an active life, but in May, she collapsed while climbing out of bed.
She said she felt dizzy and suddenly lost her strength, but managed to call out to her AI-powered device in her apartment to call for help.
"Save me," Lee said. "I think I'm dying."
An ambulance came right away and rushed her to the Emergency Room at the Long Island Jewish Hospital in Forest Hills.
It turns out she had a brain hemorrhage, which could've led to a stroke if she wasn't treated immediately.
Her AI-powered device is called NUGU.
"AI is scary because people are messing around with technology. But this is a great example of how AI can be leveraged to not only support but help and save people's lives," Assemblymember Ron Kim said.
Kim is the chair of the Aging Committee.
He secured a $1.2 million State grant to give out these AI devices for free.
500 have been distributed throughout Queens through a pilot program.
There are currently 1,000 seniors on the waiting list.
NUGU issues notifications to take medication and alerts an off-site control center manned by human beings when a resident goes quiet or hasn't checked in for an extended period of time.
The committee's goal is to supplement home-care aides, not replace them.
"In South Korea many many years ago, like 7 years ago, an older adult passed and no one discovered a body for like 3 weeks. It created a national scandal. And overnight they partnered with the biggest tech companies to produce technology so they can monitor isolated lonely older adults so we can better serve them especially when they have health issues and if they're alone and they can't get to a hospital," Kim said.
Officials credit the device for saving four lives in Queens in the last 8 months.
The Assemblymember hopes this pilot takes off, and soon seniors throughout New York can get one for free.
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