A nine-year-old boy from Haiti, who spoke exclusively French, was found alone in the city of Faropoliça, Serra Gaúcha. Police utilized ChatGPT's assistance to translate questions and obtain address information, which helped him return home, according to the publication g1.
The incident occurred on Saturday afternoon (the 17th) after a resident called the Military Brigade at number 190. The boy was scared, and since he did not speak Portuguese, it took him time to trust the agents and begin communicating.
Soldier Rafael Tondollo and Sergeant Jefferson Mauricio Espinoza Carret arrived at the scene. Noticing that the language barrier complicated conversation, they turned to ChatGPT to translate questions in audio format. Among the questions asked was: 'What school do you attend?'
The answer received allowed the team to determine a landmark for searching for housing. The police proceeded to the school district, and during the journey, the boy recognized the streets and began giving directions.
Tondollo stated that gaining the child's trust was one of the main difficulties at the beginning of the interaction. He noted: 'Since he was very frightened, it was quite difficult and long to start the dialogue; we needed some time for him to believe in us and feel safe enough to speak.'
The child was able to identify his home when the patrol car was only one block away. Tondollo told g1: 'When we reached the street of his home, he opened the car door, being almost a block from the house. He was very happy to be back home.'
The parents were not at home, but a neighbor managed to contact the father, who soon returned. According to the police officer, the family was shopping at a fruit stand in the city center when the boy said he needed the restroom and ran out the door onto the street.
When the parents realized their son was missing, they started searching. After all search possibilities were exhausted, they walked home, where they were able to find him.
According to the Military Brigade, the boy was found approximately 1.5 kilometers from the point of sale where he was with his parents. He remained alone for about an hour and sustained no injuries.
The artificial intelligence tool did not automatically determine the child's address. ChatGPT helped the police translate questions and obtain information about the school; based on this reference point, movement and the boy's own recognition of the streets allowed them to reach the family's home.