Facebook is expanding its use of pattern recognition software outside of the United States to help prevent suicides, Reuters reported Monday. Facebook executive Guy Rosen said that the software's initial testing in the U.S. was effective and led to first responders meeting with more than 100 users identified by the program as suicide risks.
Facebook's pattern recognition software has taken big leaps forward, according to TechCrunch. In March, the company unveiled a less advanced version of the program that offered information about suicide prevention resources to flagged users and nudged them to reach out to a friend. Now Facebook's artificial intelligence can automatically identify posts that include suicidal thoughts and send them to human moderators, who can then contact local authorities or first responders directly. "This is about shaving off minutes at every single step of the process," Rosen said.
Facebook says that the program will eventually be rolled out everywhere except the EU, where it might run afoul of privacy protections. A successful unveiling could bring some much needed positive PR to the tech giant — and save some lives.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Massacre in the favela: Rio’s police take on the gangsIn the Spotlight The ‘defence operation’ killed 132 suspected gang members, but could spark ‘more hatred and revenge’
-
The John Lewis ad: touching, or just weird?Talking Point This year’s festive offering is full of 1990s nostalgia – but are hedonistic raves really the spirit of Christmas?
-
Codeword: November 15, 2025The daily codeword puzzle from The Week
-
Google avoids the worst in antitrust rulingSpeed Read A federal judge rejected the government's request to break up Google
-
Supreme Court allows social media age check lawSpeed Read The court refused to intervene in a decision that affirmed a Mississippi law requiring social media users to verify their ages
-
Nvidia hits $4 trillion milestoneSpeed Read The success of the chipmaker has been buoyed by demand for artificial intelligence
-
X CEO Yaccarino quits after two yearsSpeed Read Elon Musk hired Linda Yaccarino to run X in 2023
-
Musk chatbot Grok praises Hitler on XSpeed Read Grok made antisemitic comments and referred to itself as 'MechaHitler'
-
Disney, Universal sue AI firm over 'plagiarism'Speed Read The studios say that Midjourney copied characters from their most famous franchises
-
Amazon launches 1st Kuiper internet satellitesSpeed Read The battle of billionaires continues in space
-
Test flight of orbital rocket from Europe explodesSpeed Read Isar Aerospace conducted the first test flight of the Spectrum orbital rocket, which crashed after takeoff
