Facebook's artificial intelligence could save lives

Facebook has developed an algorithm to detect suicidal behavior in users and act immediately, even before a human could intervene. Through the company's artificial intelligence, they could be saving the lives of many users at risk of suicide.

Through a revamped interface, Facebook is making it easier for users who suspect suicide to report it to the company. This new proactive detection technology will monitor all posts with the aim of... look for patterns of suicidal behavior. It is software that Its main goal is to save lives and provide psychological support to the potential victim, as well as their family and friends..

Direct communication via chat

Facebook's artificial intelligence is designed to work on communication with users through chat, from which questions such as "Are you okay?", "Do you need help?" are asked, indicators that can help at a given moment a person who is in a desperate situation, lost or alone and does not know who to explain their problem to.

Algorithms are created to speed up the detection of this type of behavior, since many times it is too late when humans become aware of these types of problems.

Facebook has local resources that include telephone helplines, communication with authorities, psychological support for family members, and people who provide immediate attention to the victim.

In this way, Facebook wants to put an end to serious errors such as the live broadcast of suicides by some users who decided to end their lives and publish it on the social network, without their contacts or people in their environment being able to prevent such a tragedy.

Through the development of these artificial intelligence algorithms, Facebook wants to prevent its users' lives from being endangered. Therefore, they will track users' activity and behavior patterns.

This new algorithm is already in operation worldwide except in the European Union, because regulations are more restrictive regarding the privacy of internet users.

Protection versus privacy

But this type of tracking also brings controversy and discontent from some users, who feel persecuted and have less privacy, finding themselves exposed to other purposes such as propaganda.

These types of actions can have the opposite effect, if viewed from the perspective of an invasion of privacy, because the user may feel defenseless against such tracking by the popular social network instead of feeling safer.

As with all new social media initiatives, the results must be thoroughly studied to see if it can truly be proclaimed as a useful tool for saving the lives of those at risk of suicide.