Facebook Rolls Out AI To Detect Suicidal Posts Before They're Reported (techcrunch.com)

Facebook is rolling out "proactive detection" artificial intelligence technology that will scan all posts on the site for patterns of suicidal thoughts, and when necessary send mental health resources to the user at risk or their friends, or contact local first-responders. The goal is to use AI to decrease how long it takes to send help to those in need. TechCrunch reports: Facebook previously tested using AI to detect troubling posts and more prominently surface suicide reporting options to friends in the U.S. Now Facebook is will scour all types of content around the world with this AI, except in the European Union, where General Data Protection Regulation privacy laws on profiling users based on sensitive information complicate the use of this tech. Facebook also will use AI to prioritize particularly risky or urgent user reports so they're more quickly addressed by moderators, and tools to instantly surface local language resources and first-responder contact info. It's also dedicating more moderators to suicide prevention, training them to deal with the cases 24/7, and now has 80 local partners like Save.org, National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and Forefront from which to provide resources to at-risk users and their networks.

Comments

They needed to do this

[Anonymous Coward]

They're just attempting to get ahead of things because they know damn well at some point someone is going to do some research and show how many suicides Facebook actually CAUSES. Legally, they can say they are taking all the reasonable measures possible to prevent it.

Re:Does it actually work?

[mark-t]

True, but most people who are suicdal do not genuinely want to die as much as they would rather want their living circumstances just to be different from whatever they are

Re: Troll bait

[Anonymous Coward]

If Facebook keeps doing this I'll kill myself

Re: Troll bait

[Cryacin]

I can see this play out in the USA.

Guy is detected about to commit suicide. Police is sent.

Police first shoot guy's dog, then the guy.

Circle of life...