AI powered chatbots help reduce violence, say experts

A group of tech experts is developing a new artificially intelligent chatbot to help victims experiencing domestic violence easier access to justice system and counseling program. The public are asked to join “Police Noi” or a little cop, Facebook page, initiated by DTAC.

According to the data from Women and Men Progressive Movement Foundation (WMPMF), it showed that domestic violence situation in Thailand is worsening dramatically, especially size of problem and forms of violence. The study found that there were a total of 466 crime news reports related to domestic abuse, with 83% of murder.

Jadej Chaowilai, director of WMPMF, said safe space that offer emphatic and supportive counseling program is a critical mechanism to end domestic violence, in which include more personnel and a better attitude on human security and emergency care for victims of family abuse.

Pol.Lt.Col. Peabprom Mekhiyanont, police inspector at the Investigation and Inquiry Affairs and project owner of Police Noi, said violence against women in Thailand is on the rise annually. Statistics from the collaborative report conducted by Thailand Institute of Justice and University of Cambridge indicated that  a woman is raped every 15 minutes, resulting in 30,000 rape cases a year. Although in reality, a mere 4,000 cases are reported and only 2,400 cases result in the arrest of offenders.

“The effective counseling system, like mobile application and chatbot, will play a critical role in reducing domestic violence and optimizing the access to justice system of victims. And this is the origin of social project against domestic violence called a little cop or police noi,” said Pol.Lt.Col. Peabprom.

Winn Voravuthikunchai, Group data scientist for Telenor Asia, said AI is simply considered of commercialization, it actually has a strong commitment to social good.

People seem to be more honest in sharing sensitive information with a machine than a person because they don’t worry about being judged. This means that AI gets more accurate data to provide more meaningful recommendations. It also has no limitation on human workforce with 24/7 service offerings.

Based on his rich experience in developing AI-powered technology locally and internationally, robot function effectively in collecting and classifying information with no emotional judgement, which is a huge different from human interaction. Venting to an anonymous algorithm will lift the fear of judgement, allowing victims to release their stress, anxiety and depression.

A research conducted by the UK based advertising agency Mindshare in collaboration with IBM Watsan and Goldsmith University found that people are inclined to trust chatbots with sensitive information and they are open to receiving advice from these AI services.

He has also been running his own personal social project called “Botnoi, which is aimed at promoting and introducing the use of robot in a friendly approach. Surprisingly, there are more than 1 million subscribers, reflecting the growing interaction between humans and robots.

“This game-changing initiative is a big step of Thailand for social project by adopting state of the art technology to solve social problems effectively,” said Mr.Winn.