As more social interaction takes place in the virtual world, the telltale physical signs of sadness or distress become harder to see -- which is why some social media platforms are turning to artificial intelligence to detect people who may be at risk.
Jan. 2, 2020 -- Artificial intelligence drives most of your interactions with social media. It determines which posts appear at the top of your feed and which ones don’t make the cut. It serves up ads and suggests events, too.Computers behind social media sites, including Instagram and its owner Facebook, continually scan posts forrisk or self-harm. The systems then flag the posts for a trained professional to review.
For concerning posts that don’t pose an immediate threat of suicide, the platform sends the person resources, including the option to connect with a crisis hotline directly through Facebook messenger. These hotlines keep callers or texters talking to get them through the crisis. Facebook reports urgent posts directly to local police in the Facebook user’s area. If possible, first responders find the person, sometimes through cell phone pings, and check on them. To pinpoint which posts warrant emergency response, AI analyzes comments. “I’m here for you,” for example, is less concerning than “Tell me where you are” and “Has anyone seen him/her?” Facebook said in a statement.
Before Facebook and Instagram started using AI for suicide prevention in 2017, Sutherland and Zeal’s general manager Elliot Taylor started combing Instagram for red flags themselves. No AI—they just opened the app and searched for hashtags such as #depressed and #suicidal. “We’d see posts by people in distress and asked them if they wanted to talk,” says Taylor. They only reach out to public accounts posting publicly available hashtags.
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