AI can now spot depression in your voice Healthshots

To help identify depression early, scientists have now enhanced a technology that uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to sift through the sound of your voice to gauge whether you are depressed or not. Computing science researchers from the University of Alberta in Canada have improved technology for identifying depression through vocal cues. The study, conducted by Mashrura Tasnim and Professor Eleni Stroulia, builds on past research that suggests that the timbre of our voice contains information about our mood. Using standard benchmark data sets, Tasnim and Stroulia developed a methodology that combines several Machine Learning (ML) algorithms to recognize depression more accurately using acoustic cues. A realistic scenario is to have people use an app that will collect voice samples as they speak naturally. "The app, running on the user's phone, will recognize and track indicators of mood, such as depression, over time.