After floods kill dozens, local Chinese official uses AI to build evacuation app

Following annual summer floods in China, an official named Xie Yunshi in the suburbs of Beijing developed an AI-powered smartphone app to improve evacuation procedures. Previously, his department relied on manually calling every family to confirm their safety, a labor-intensive process that sometimes occurred late at night. This year, Xie utilized a domestic artificial intelligence platform, purchasing 1 billion tokens for approximately 30 yuan (US$4.40), to create the app. The new application allows grassroots officials and volunteers to record whether individuals are out of danger, thereby eliminating the need for extensive phone calls. This innovation aims to streamline the evacuation process and ensure the safety of residents during flood events.