Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

Facebook Starts Global Rollout of its AI Suicide Prevention Tools

posted by janrinok on Tuesday November 28 2017, @08:47PM   Printer-friendly
from the if-you're-happy-and-you-know-it... dept.

Fnord666 writes:

Facebook is expanding its limited test run for suicide- and -self-harm reporting tools to the masses. To get better at detection the social network will begin implementing pattern recognition for posts and Live videos to detect when someone could be presenting suicidal thoughts. From there, VP of product management Guy Rosen writes that the social network will also concentrate efforts to improve alerting first responders when the need arises. Facebook will also have more humans looking at posts flagged by its algorithms.

Currently the passive/AI detection tools are only available in the US, but soon those will roll out across the globe -- European Union countries notwithstanding. In the past month, Facebook has pinged over 100 first responders about potentially fatal posts, in addition to those that were reported by someone's friends and family.

Apparently, "Are you okay?" and "Can I help?" comments are good indicators that someone might be going through a very dark moment. More than that, Rosen says that thanks to the algorithms and those phrases, Facebook has picked up on videos that might've otherwise gone unnoticed prior.

"With all the fear about how AI may be harmful in the future, it's good to remind ourselves how AI is actually helping save people's lives today," CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote in a post on the social network.

Source: https://www.engadget.com/2017/11/27/facebook-ai-suicide-prevention-tools/

Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Facebook Starts Global Rollout of its AI Suicide Prevention Tools | Log In/Create an Account | Top | 63 comments | Search Discussion
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.

  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by donkeyhotay on Tuesday November 28 2017, @09:32PM (3 children)

    by donkeyhotay (2540) on Tuesday November 28 2017, @09:32PM (#602680)

    I have my doubts as to whether this will save any lives. However, it will let Mark Zuckerberg feel like he's making the world better via Facebook. I guess that's what's important.

    Starting Score:    1  point
    Moderation   +2  
       Insightful=2, Total=2
    Extra 'Insightful' Modifier   0  
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  
    Total Score:   4  

  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by c0lo on Tuesday November 28 2017, @11:26PM (2 children)

    by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday November 28 2017, @11:26PM (#602743) Journal

    I guess I'm too cynical

    'Too cynical' is a contradiction in terms a.k.a. oxymoron.

    --
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford

    • (Score: 2) by FatPhil on Wednesday November 29 2017, @10:07AM (1 child)

      by FatPhil (863) <reversethis-{if.fdsa} {ta} {tnelyos-cp}> on Wednesday November 29 2017, @10:07AM (#602909) Homepage
      The two words in that phrase do not contradict each other (quite how "too" can contradict any other single word it's juxtaposed with, I cannot imagine). For cynical to be part of an oxymoron is even trickier, it would need to be something more like "charitably/forgivingly cynical" (to have "charitable/forgiving cynicism" would be better, being adjective + noun, rather than adverb + adjective).

      If you mean "impossibility", just say that.
      --
      Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 29 2017, @02:20PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 29 2017, @02:20PM (#602995)

        Well, maybe it's just an impossible oxymoron.