'Joy' is a mood-detecting chatbot that just launced on Facebook Messenger. It was developed to assist with the mental health of users. The bot was made using artificial intelligence and natural language services from both IBM Watson and Microsoft's LUIS.
Danny Freed, the man behind Joy, created the chatbot after a friend lost their life to suicide. His goal with Joy was not to replace trained professionals but rather to encourage those in need to seek medical help. He hopes in time the service will be able to connect users with trained therapists and possibly "perform basic reminders and routine check-ins automatically.”
According to VentureBeat, the mood detecting chat bot can interact with users daily to track how they feel and can send weekly and monthly mood reports. It won't diagnose users, but it can serve as a tool to identify mood disorders. While it aids in consumer health, the bot can serve in enhancing the services that are provided by mental health care professionals.
Why This Trend Is Growing
- AI-powered Mental Health Assistance
- The development of mood-detecting chatbots like 'Joy' demonstrates the potential for AI to assist in mental health care by tracking and reporting on user emotions.
- Emotional Analytics
- The use of chatbots to detect and analyze user moods opens up opportunities for businesses to gain insights into consumer emotions and tailor their products and services accordingly.
- Automated Mental Health Check-ins
- The integration of automated reminders and routine check-ins in chatbots like 'Joy' can disrupt the mental health care industry by providing continuous support and monitoring for users.
Industries Being Reshaped
- Mental Health Care
- Chatbots equipped with mood-detecting capabilities can enhance the services provided by mental health care professionals by providing additional monitoring and support to users.
- AI Technology
- The use of artificial intelligence, such as IBM Watson and Microsoft's LUIS, in mood-detecting chatbots presents disruptive innovation opportunities for the AI technology industry, particularly in the field of emotional analytics.
- Social Media Platforms
- Integration of mood-detecting chatbots like 'Joy' on social media platforms, such as Facebook Messenger, can revolutionize the way users engage and interact with social media, opening up new possibilities for targeted emotional support and mental health services.
