Facebook turns to AI to prevent suicides

Facebook is testing an AI feature which could scan posts to see if anyone is in danger of harming themselves.

Facebook is turning to artificial intelligence to detect if someone might be contemplating suicide.

Facebook already has mechanisms for flagging posts from people thinking about harming themselves. The new feature is intended to detect such posts before anyone reports them.

The service will scan posts and live video with a technique called "pattern recognition." For example, comments from friends such as "are you ok?" can indicate suicidal thoughts.

Facebook has already been testing the feature in the US and is making it available in most other countries. The European Union is excluded, though; Facebook won't say why.

The company is also using AI to prioritise the order that flagged posts are sent to its human moderators so they can quickly alert local authorities.

Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.