The pressure on Chinese adolescents to perform well academically is immense. With the expectations of two generations upon them to secure a prosperous future for all, it is little wonder that many develop psychological issues. Robots are coming to the rescue in Nanjing!
Recently rolled out, quite literally, in cities not far from Nanjing, including Wuhu and Jiaxing, these kind of robotic psychiatrists have been put to work on school campuses and may now soon be a feature in schools in Nanjing’s Yuhuatai District.
The robot psychiatrists, named “Xiao Yu”, are a product of Silicon Intelligence (南京硅基智能科技有限公司), an artificial intelligence innovation company based in Nanjing.
With the thinking that 21st-century clammed-up teenagers may be more willing to share their mental health issues with a robot than another human being, Silicon Intelligence have developed that which they call “guided dialogue”.
Consultant for the company’s Psychological Robot Project and graduate of a medical college in Germany, Dr. Chen, explained how it works to reporters.
Chen said, “Following a one by one, in-depth, artificial-intelligence analysis of the children’s answers as to academic pressure, growth confusion, emotional problems and other issues, the robot can advise and guide children to how best tackle the future”, reported Nanjing Daily.
Chairman of Silicon Intelligence, Sima Huapen, said, “Academic pressure for adolescent children is great; family and society are mostly concerned with test results. When they encounter confusion, they lack the channels for relief. Once extreme events occur, the consequences will be unimaginable. The ‘psychological service’ robot may be a good assistant to help them”.
But of course, adolescents do not just face the risk of failing their exams. During this transformative period in a young person’s life they must also tackle their desire for greater autonomy, peer pressure, the discovery of sexual identity and an accelerated exposure to media and technology.
Analysing approaches to addressing mental health issues among teenagers, the World Health Organisation says, “Avoiding institutionalisation and over-medicalisation, prioritising non-pharmacological approaches, and respecting the rights of children in line with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and other human rights instruments are key for adolescents”.
Here’s hoping Xiao Yu is up to the job. But quite what the robot psychiatrist’s sofa looks like is anyone’s guess.
