An 18-year-old student from China's Shanghai has captured hearts across social media after developing an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered app to ensure his grandfather never misses his medication.
An 18-year-old student from China's Shanghai has captured hearts across social media after developing an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered app to ensure his grandfather never misses his medication. Ma Kai, who recently graduated from secondary school, completed China's highly competitive national university entrance examination, the gaokao, in June. His inspiring story came to light after he attended the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai in mid-July, where he was interviewed as an ordinary visitor.
During the interaction, Ma demonstrated the AI-driven application he built specifically for his grandfather. The app was developed using MiniCPM, a large language model created by Beijing-based AI company ModelBest.
“I learned some experts from this company would be at the exhibition, so I came to ask them questions,” Ma stated.
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Despite the attention it has received, Ma humbly admitted that the project is still in its infancy, describing it as “comprising just some lines of code.”
The app does more than send medication reminders. After users upload a photo of a medicine package, it can identify whether the medication has expired. If it detects an expired drug, the system immediately issues a loud voice warning.
“The drug has expired. Please do not consume it,” the app alerts.
The innovation is deeply personal for Ma, who was raised by his grandfather and shares a close bond with him. As the teenager prepares to leave home for university in September, he is increasingly worried about his grandfather, who is in his 70s and lives alone.
Although Ma has not yet decided what subject he will study at university, he said his grandfather's health was the driving force behind the project.
“My grandpa has some underlying medical conditions and needs to take his medications regularly. There is absolutely no room for carelessness,” Ma remarked.
He explained that his grandfather's declining memory often leaves him anxious that he could forget his medicines, confuse different prescriptions, or accidentally consume expired medication.
“I developed this app to help remind my grandpa of his medication schedule,” Ma explained.
