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- 🤖 A.I. and the fight against domestic abuse
Good morning and welcome to the latest edition of neonpulse!
In today’s issue we’re highlighting how one non-profit is harnessing the power of A.I. to fight back against domestic abuse, but before we get started, I do have a small request for you.
Domestic abuse is a serious problem affecting hundreds of millions of women worldwide, with many of the victims feeling trapped and hopeless because of a lack of support and resources.
To help raise awareness about the resources that are available to women suffering from domestic abuse, we kindly ask that you share this story with your networks.
You can quickly share this email on Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter using the share icons at the top of the email, or simply even forwarding this email to a few friends would help massively.
Thanks, and lets get into it.
When I first learned how many women around the world were victims of domestic abuse I was shocked.
According to the United Nations, approximately 736 million women have been subjected to physical or sexual violence, meaning that 1 out of every 3 women on the planet will be victims of abuse in their lifetime.
The shear number of victims has made providing support challenging, yet a new project called Sophia is harnessing the power of generative A.I. to empower victims all over the world by providing them with the support and resources they need to set themselves free.
Powered by D-ID’s new conversational AI that we covered earlier this week, the Sophia chatbot is able to assist victims of domestic violence 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, regardless of where they are in the world.
The project was developed in partnership between D-ID and Spring ACT, a non-profit that uses technology to eliminate global injustices, and allows users to engage in a one-on-one conversation with the chatbot in seven languages, providing victims with information on warning signs and connecting them with resources they can use to get help.
Conversations take place in complete anonymity, leaving no digital trace for abusers to discover, and the chatbot provides users with the ability to store evidence in an encrypted digital safe.
Helping to bring this project to life from a technical perspective was Shiran Mlamdovsky Somech, a social tech entrepreneur and the head of Impact at D-ID.
"We are proud to be collaborating with Spring ACT to help Sophia reach more victims of domestic violence more effectively," said Shiran. "Applying technology to improve life for vulnerable populations is at the core of D-ID's values. Sophia is an excellent example of how generative AI can massively impact society for the better."
The project has attracted attention from leaders worldwide, including Adriana Quinones, the head of Human Rights and Development at the UN.
"UN Women is inspired by this global collaboration/initiative created to combat the worldwide shortage of governmental and NGO resources and to rectify the lack of knowledge and trust on the part of the victim. We are confident that the Sophia chatbot will reach and help more survivors globally."
Since its launch, more than 15,000 people have chatted with Sophia, and thanks to the underlying technology powering Sophia, the chatbot has the ability to help provide victims with support at an unprecedented scale.
"We developed Sophia to empower survivors of domestic violence to more easily reach out for help and take action," said Rhiana Spring, CEO at Spring ACT. "We are humbled to be able to now make this service more accessible for survivors no matter their literacy level by animating Sophia with D-ID."
It’s incredible to see how a brand new technology like generative A.I. is being used to help provide support to the many victims of domestic abuse, and we’re hopeful to see how innovators like Shiran continue to use tools like generative A.I. to help solve the worlds biggest problems.
You can check out the Sophia chatbot here
You can find support resources for victims here.
And the team at Sophia put together a video which you can check out on YouTube here.
Thank you for taking the time to share this, and we hope that you have a great weekend.
A personal note from Shiran
Below is a personal note from Shiran to our readers:
“I’m passionate about bringing together innovative technology and leading international organizations to combat severe social issues. I’m looking forward to building new partnerships, so please feel free to share any ideas initiatives with me. Let’s work together to create a better and reimagined 2023!” - Shiran
You can reach out Shiran on her Linkedin here
That’s all for today folks!
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