Canada Teams Up with AI Firm to Track Suicide-Related Behavior on Social Media

Canada has recently acquired the services of Advanced Symbolics, a firm that specializes in developing artificial intelligence (AI) systems, in order to help the government monitor social media platforms for signs of suicide related behavior. Specifically, Advanced Symbolics will be tasked with tracking posts from an estimated 160,000 social media accounts and pick out those with possible suicide risk. 

According to the contract document, Advanced Symbolics will be looking certain indicators, such as ideation (thoughts that suggest suicidal tendencies), behaviors (self harm, suicide attempts), and communications (plans or threats of ending one’s life). With the data it has compiled, Advanced Symbolics is looking to work with the government in the proper deployment of mental health resources in areas and places where there is detected suicide related behavior.

The overall main objective of Advanced Symbolics is to look for precursors for suicide, and hopefully give the Canadian government an idea of where and when it can send help so that people with suicide risk can have access to assistance. The firm also stated that it will not be identifying specific people when monitoring social media posts. 

Advanced Symbolics is scheduled to start its tracking some time within this month, and the initial monitoring phase will last throughout the first six months of 2018. The AI firm, however, will have to conduct a pilot program for the first three months, and if the Canadian government is satisfied with the results, it would give its approval to continue until the end of June this year. Although the first phase will only be for half a year, Canada is authorize to extend the entire program for up to five years.

Utilizing the latest in technology to combat suicide and help those contemplating doing it is nothing new, and Canada is certainly not alone in its fight. Back in November of last year, Facebook had started to introduce AI suicide prevention tools that reach out to account holders that post thoughts or exhibit signs of suicide related behavior. The same tools also allow other Facebook users to report somebody who shows suicide risk. Another social media platform, Instagram (also owned by Facebook), also launched similar tools in 2017, providing a means for other Instagram users to report live video content that suggest suicidal behavior, and at the same time, send an offer of mental health resources to the user posting the reported content.

For more resources on suicide prevention, head to the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention or contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.