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Suicide prevention chat robot

Social media is full of people saying how they feel. The sequentialness of social media makes it easier to bring them happier options
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I recently replied to what might be a Yahoo Answers suicide bait question. Then I realized that a chat robot that just sifted YA as well as blogs to find what appeared to be suicide preferences could say things like "wow, that totally makes me think of those wacky suicide prevention things like 1800chillout" or "ha! I detect romance gone awry I just placed a personals ad for you, if you live until monday you can see who responded" or "You seem pretty dedicated to things making sense Have you considered going to irs.gov to file early so your relations can get all that refundy goodness theyd otherwise miss out on?"

These might be phrased much more kindly as well as effectively to prevent suicide. As lifesaving software goes you might prevent an actual death for every few hundred or thousand autoposts, you might prevent many hundreds or thousands of emotively crummy suicide attempts as well.

Also at Yahoo Answers I noticed a person saying something rather like "aw crum, might anybody suggest an alternative to feeling aw crum." I brought out my usual reply of fitness, st johns wort, (and occasionally I think of some other thing like TMS) to brighten peoples lives. Then I thought, "this person sits in front of a computer, she would like a zero effort fun computer thing that cures dysphoric mood" There are online amusements that raise mood when done 3 times a week for a month (link) Peggle as well as Bejewelled 2 apparently drastically improve outlook hours n days away from being played.

Thus suicide prevention software could go beyond the call a human, delay event, mysterious novelty has been ordered to please you approaches described. The researcher thought Peggle lifted affect as it had really demonstrative congratulations. Thus the AI could sift YA or blog to find praisable material, then make a psychologically verified praise. Or send the person one of these apparently uplifting amusements on their handyphone.

Even though suicide prevention chat robots are obvious they still contain novel component technologies. Perhaps one of the novelties is that the sequential form of much social media makes things easier.

beanangel, Jun 10 2011

amusements that improve mood as well as durable affect http://core.ecu.edu.../popcap_results.htm
[beanangel, Jun 10 2011]

This idea as it appears at wikipedia http://en.wikipedia...tion=edit&section=9
[beanangel, Jun 10 2011, last modified Jun 13 2011]

This is the description that says amusements durably improve affect http://www.ecu.edu/...lides_03-01-11.pptx
In addition to the two lab sessions scheduled one month apart, the experimental group was instructed to play the casual video game of their choice at home for at least 30 minutes 3x per week (At least 24 hours between sessions) for one month. Participants were asked to keep a log of the amount of time spent playing the game during the month. The average game playing time for the experimental group was minimum 30 max 68 minutes and the mean 40.7 minutes. Data was collected from participants on 4 occasions (after the study) The experimental group saw significant reductions in depression across the board, with all seven subjects previously classified as suffering from moderate to severe depression moving to the minor or minimal depression categories. At the same time, the number of subjects classified as having minor depression dropped from nine to four. Further analyses revealed changes between males and females as well as in younger and older participants. given the fact that significant changes were demonstrated before and after game play as well as before and after the month long study, the data supports both the short and long term efficacy of prescribed game play [beanangel, Jun 10 2011]

All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace (a few scrolls down) http://www.brautigan.net/machines.html
"All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace"
I like to think
(and the sooner the better!)
of a cybernetic meadow
where mammals and computers
live together in mutually
programming harmony
like pure water
touching clear sky.
I like to think
(right now please!)
of a cybernetic forest
filled with pines and electronics
where deer stroll peacefully
past computers
as if they were flowers
with spinning blossoms
I like to think
(it has to be!)
of a cybernetic ecology
where we are free of our labors
and joined back to nature,
returned to our mammal
brothers and sisters,
and all watched over
by machines of loving grace.
- Richard Brautigan [zen_tom, Jun 12 2011]

Man Dies by Suicide After Talking with AI Chatbot https://www.vice.co...-chatbot-widow-says
[xaviergisz, Apr 06 2023]


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Annotation:







       " I detect romance gone awry I just placed a personals ad for you, if you live until monday you can see who responded"   

       i wonder if this would cheer someone up or actually push them over the edge? It brings to mind a recent dysfunctional conversation between myself and my father:   

       Dad: "last week i made a dating profile for you and i have been taking calls posing as you."   

       Bob: (shocked) "thats it.... I am going to KILLL myself TO-NIGHT!"   

       Dad: "...why wait until tonight?"   

       UPDATE: Just because text cant convey tone. My dad was teasing me and my comment was just dramatic exaggeration...
bob, Jun 11 2011
  

       This invention makes me want to shoot myself in the head.
CyberCod, Jun 11 2011
  

       [CyberCod] Then you'll miss the really great idea I'm going to post in a few days. I was really counting on you vote, so don't let me down. Have I mentioned that you're my absolute favorite halfbaker? If you're still here on monday, I promise to vote for every one of your ideas. If you shoot yourself, you can't go to Heaven. Who will feed your puppy when you're gone? No puppy? One will be delivered shortly. Happy Birthday! Be my Valentine! Jesus loves you!
mouseposture, Jun 11 2011
  

       "...Don't go! Everyone you know who has preceded you to the Great Beyond will be waiting there for you; and to be perfectly frank, they really didn't like you that much..." [+]
Grogster, Jun 11 2011
  

       That will make someone feel better, knowing there are no other humans willing to talk to them and instead they've installed Watson on the help line.
tatterdemalion, Jun 11 2011
  

       This actually seems like it might work if high risk cases which it detected were directed to real human beings for further conversation.   

       [tatterdemalion] allowing the bot itself to continue the conversation would be an interesting experiment, and might turn out to be therapeutic, despite your misgivings.   

       Of course, pretty soon, people would start deliberately messing with it, the way they do with Eliza's offspring. Overwhelmed with such spam, it might lose its usefulness.
mouseposture, Jun 11 2011
  

       Life!. Don't talk to ME about Life!
gnomethang, Jun 12 2011
  

       You've got that terrible pain in all the diodes down your left side again, haven't you, [gnome] ?
8th of 7, Jun 12 2011
  

       Not that anybody cares.....
gnomethang, Jun 12 2011
  

       //and occasionally I think of some other thing like TMS//
I know what you mean, it always cheered me up when Aggers and Blowers pulled out a chocolate cake that some kind listener had sent in!
gnomethang, Jun 12 2011
  

       Life is great except for other people, the human body and the outside world.
rcarty, Jun 13 2011
  

       I like this; an AI looking for humans that need help, then trying to help them. I especially like ""this person sits in front of a computer, she would like a zero effort fun computer thing that cures dysphoric mood" with a video game then sent.   

       The availability of convincing AIS lets us have a new look at the requirement of humans for interaction. I wonder if some people who get addicted to videogames, the web or on the most simple terms gambling do so because this sort of interaction meets some need and is a form of self medication. AIs are very much more predictable than humans, who might be mean. I could imagine a very therapeutic environment comprised entirely of nonhumans AIs and diversions of various sorts.
bungston, Jun 13 2011
  

       You could have a browser app that somehow brings up measured as lifting mood pages (stumbleupon content maybe) along with the purposed surfing content as well.   

       pubmed pubmed bunnies! pubmed youtube youtube BetterThanYourtube youtube pubmed.
beanangel, Jun 13 2011
  

       Aaaaand twelve years later ..   

       And automated phone systems are still so annoying and worthless that five minutes with one is usually more than enough to make me want to go out and butcher something, or someone, anyone or anything will normally do by that point .. and you think this would be a good idea?   

       The frustrations of extended interaction with a poorly designed "AI" or chatbot (they *all* are, still) is more likely to drive someone to kill themselves than not, particularly if anything important hinges on that interaction or it serves as gatekeeper for something and won't let you past or transfer you to a real live human, if it does stop someone that way inclined from doing the deed it will most likely be because it enraged them to the point where they went out and killed someone else instead.   

       [checks out newest link]   

       And those where my thoughts before checking out the new <link> from [xavier]
Skewed, Apr 06 2023
  

       Wow, that's pretty disturbing. I don't see any way to prevent it. As long as we've only come this far -- Excellent word prediction but utterly incapable of understanding emotions -- this kind of thing will keep happening. I bet it wouldn't have happened with GPT 4 though.
Voice, Apr 06 2023
  


 

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