"Hi, this is from the health office. Can we kindly take a minute of your time to learn more about your health condition?"

Starting from Tuesday, some residents in South Korea will receive such artificial intelligence-powered phone calls. It is part of an AI-powered calling system launched by Chinese artificial intelligence pioneer iFlytek and South Korean software company Hancom.

The move is designed to help South Korea better track people who have close contacts with confirmed cases of coronavirus. It can also be used to keep track of the health situation of discharged patients, so as to reduce burden on front line medical workers amid the epidemic.

The system, deployed in South Korea via the two companies' joint venture Accufly.AI, can automatically record the conversations, and save a lot of manpower and time, iFlytek said in a statement.