AI-Tracks-Facial-Expressions-To-identify-PTSD
USF Develops AI Tool To Detect PTSD in Kids Through Facial Cues
- Written by Kiara Fabbri Former Tech News Writer
- Fact-Checked by Sarah Frazier Former Content Manager
A new AI tool from USF detects PTSD in children by analyzing facial expressions, offering clinicians a private, non-verbal way to assess trauma.
In a rush? Here are the quick facts:
- USF researchers built an AI tool to detect PTSD in children’s facial expressions.
- The AI analyzes anonymized facial movements during trauma-related interviews.
- PTSD is hard to diagnose in children due to avoidance and communication challenges.
The researchers of this new study explain that diagnosis of PTSD in children is extremely challenging because children find it difficult to communicate their traumatic experiences through words.
To tackle this issue, the researchers at the University of South Florida (USF) have developed an AI-powered diagnostic tool, which shows promise to transform current practices. The system uses facial expression analysis to identify PTSD symptoms in children, thus providing clinicians with an objective, cost-effective trauma assessment method.
Led by USF professors Alison Salloum, an expert in childhood trauma, and Shaun Canavan, a specialist in AI and facial analysis, the project combines real-time emotion recognition with patient privacy protection. “Avoidance is a main component of PTSD, so children don’t want to talk about it,” Salloum said to Tampa Bay Times (TBT). “There are lots of reasons — one is just the sheer horror of what happened.”
Traditional methods rely on interviews and questionnaires, which often fall short because children lack the cognitive ability to express their feelings, or fear disturbing their family members.
However, Salloum observed that children displayed hidden emotions through their facial expressions during virtual interviews. She approached Canavan about the possibility of technological detection of these moments. “I was confident it would work,” he said to TBT.
The research team worked with anonymized video data from 18 children to record hundreds of thousands of video frames. The AI system detected the minimal emotional responses which are typical for PTSD patients. The researchers made sure to store no raw video content.Only facial movement data and contextual information were used.
The study is the first to incorporate context-specific PTSD classification while preserving user privacy. The team hopes to develop a real-time system, which will include a clinician interface.
Salloum emphasized that AI won’t replace human evaluation but will support it. “It doesn’t replace the other methods of asking questions, conversations and interviews about what the person has experienced,” she said to TBT. “It’s really a tool,” she added.
The researchers say to TBT that they hope that the system may one day help other groups too, like combat veterans or abuse survivors, offering clinicians a new lens into trauma.
Image by Pawel Czerwinski, from Unsplash
Windsurf AI Talent Joins Google DeepMind, Sidestepping OpenAI-Microsoft Deal
- Written by Kiara Fabbri Former Tech News Writer
- Fact-Checked by Sarah Frazier Former Content Manager
After OpenAI rejected its $3B acquisition offer, Google acquired Windsurf’s leading AI experts to boost its DeepMind operations in Silicon Valley’s AI competition.
In a rush? Here are the quick facts:
- OpenAI tried to buy Windsurf for $3 billion but talks collapsed.
- Windsurf refused to share sensitive data with Microsoft, OpenAI’s investor.
- Google licensed Windsurf’s tech instead of acquiring the company outright.
Google has hired the top minds behind Windsurf, a start-up that created an AI tool for writing code, adding new strength to its AI division, DeepMind, as first reported by The New York Times . The move is part of Silicon Valley’s growing rush to lock down the best artificial intelligence talent.
CEO Varun Mohan, co-founder Douglas Chen, and several Windsurf researchers now work at Google DeepMind. Google also paid for a license to use Windsurf’s technology, though the amount wasn’t disclosed, the Times noted.
“We’re excited to welcome some top A.I. coding talent from Windsurf’s team to Google DeepMind to advance our work in agentic coding,” Google said in a statement, as reported by the Times.
OpenAI had tried to buy Windsurf in a $3 billion deal just weeks ago. The deal collapsed after Windsurf refused to share sensitive product data with Microsoft, OpenAI’s biggest investor. The Times reports that Microsoft required access to this data as a condition.
Once Windsurf’s exclusivity agreement with OpenAI ended, Google stepped in. CEO Sundar Pichai and DeepMind’s Demis Hassabis offered a simpler deal with fewer complications, says the Times.
This isn’t the first time Google has used licensing and hiring to gain AI talent. The Times reports that in 2023, it paid $3 billion to license Character.AI’s technology and also hired its founders, former Google employees.
Rival companies like Meta and Google have reportedly offered compensation packages as high as $100 million to attract top talent. Windsurf’s business chief, Jeff Wang, will now serve as interim CEO. OpenAI and Microsoft declined to comment further, as reported by the Times.
The FTC and DOJ usually watch for deals that limit competition, but hiring and licensing deals like this often slip past scrutiny.
