Can AI Assist in Suicide Prevention?

There is a roughly one-in-five chance an individual will experience some form of mental illness in their lifetime. Moreover mental illness can strike anyone -- even popular celebrities such as Ariana Grande, Michael Phelps, and Lady Gaga have spoken of their struggles. Figures from nonprofit organization Mental Health America show the severe depression rate for US youth increased from 5.9 to 8.2 percent over the last five years. For reasons ranging from non-diagnosis to social stigmas, more than half of the 43 million Americans who suffer from some form of depression have received no treatment for their condition. The numbers provide a sobering glimpse of the shortcomings in mental health care, and some researchers are suggesting AI might be able to address the problem.