A program developed at Cincinnati Children's Hospital that seeks to use artificial intelligence to predict and curb student violence will be introduced in two Cincinnati-area schools this year.
The program uses AI and machine learning to analyze recordings of student interviews with school employees, WKRC reported May 26. The natural language processing system will look for conversation keywords that might indicate students need referrals to counselors and other help to prevent harm to themselves or others, according to the report.
The program aims to prevent school shootings that have plagued the country, including one this week at a Texas elementary school, the news outlet reported.
"There are a series of about 30 questions, anything that has to do with the child's history, especially psychological history," Andrew Cifuentes of Cincinnati Children's told the TV station, explaining how the program would work. "We will talk about diagnosis. We'll talk about history of violence, if they're aggressive at home or at school. Do they get along with their family? What makes them happy? What do they like to do? What makes them upset? How do they deal with things? It's kind of a 'get to know me' psychiatry edition. You just talk about everything."
The program is scheduled to start by the fall semester at two local schools and could expand, WXIX reported. It was made possible through a five-year, $2.8 million grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.