A 2018 pilot project between the Public Health Agency of Canada and Advanced Symbolics will use social media posts as a resource to predict regional suicide rates.

Suicide is a growing public health concern. In Canada, 4,000 lives are claimed by suicide each year -- that is 10 lives per day. For every one of these suicide deaths, there are five people hospitalized following self-injury, 25 to 30 suicide attempts and seven to 10 people affected by each tragedy, according to analysis by the Public Health Agency of Canada. Suicide rates are highest among certain groups -- such as Indigenous peoples, immigrants and refugees, prisoners and the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex (LGBTI) community -- and are on the rise. The impacts of suicide are felt widely.

Suicide is a growing public health concern. In Canada, 4,000 lives are claimed by suicide each year – that is 10 lives per day. For every one of these suicide deaths, there are five people hospitalized following self-injury, 25 to 30 suicide attempts and seven to 10 people affected by each tragedy, according to analysis by the Public Health Agency of Canada. Suicide rates are highest among certain groups – such as Indigenous Peoples, immigrants and refugees, prisoners and the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex (LGBTI) community – and are on the rise. The impacts of suicide are felt widely.

For years, Facebook has been investing in artificial intelligence fields like machine learning and deep neural nets to build its core business--selling you things better than anyone else in the world. But earlier this month, the company began turning some of those AI tools to a more noble goal: stopping people from taking their own lives. But it's not just tech giants like Facebook, Instagram, and China's up-and-coming video platform Live.me who are devoting R&D to flagging self-harm. Doctors at research hospitals and even the US Department of Veterans Affairs are piloting new, AI-driven suicide-prevention platforms that capture more data than ever before. The goal: build predictive models to tailor interventions earlier.

For years, Facebook has been investing in artificial intelligence fields like machine learning and deep neural nets to build its core business--selling you things better than anyone else in the world. But earlier this month, the company began turning some of those AI tools to a more noble goal: stopping people from taking their own lives. But it's not just tech giants like Facebook, Instagram, and China's up-and-coming video platform Live.me who are devoting R&D to flagging self-harm. Doctors at research hospitals and even the US Department of Veterans Affairs are piloting new, AI-driven suicide-prevention platforms that capture more data than ever before. The goal: build predictive models to tailor interventions earlier.