Can Artificial Intelligence Really Identify Suicidal Thoughts? Experts Aren't Convinced

Australian experts have spoken out about a recent US study that claimed to show artificial intelligence can identify people with suicidal thoughts - by analysing their brain scans. It sounds promising - but it's worth pointing out only 79 people were studied, so are the results enough to show this is a path worth pursing? The research, published in Nature, studied brain activity in subjects when presented with a number of different words - like death, cruelty, trouble, carefree, good and praise. A machine-learning algorithm was then trained to see the nureal response differences between the two groups involved - those with suicidal thoughts, and those with non-suicidal thoughts. And it showed promise - the algorithm correctly identified 15 of 17 patients as belonging to the suicide group, and 16 of 17 healthy individuals as belonging to the control group.