Study: AI Can Spot Signs of Depression in Reddit Posts

ATLANTA — A new study has found that artificial intelligence (AI) can now spot signs of depression in online writing, and can do so with high accuracy.

The study, which appeared in Corpus-Based Studies Across Humanities, found that models from machine learning (ML), a form of AI, could spot depression in posts on Reddit with 96 percent accuracy. The researchers say this study reveals how even short social media messages can reveal emotions.

“Language is not just for conveying information,” said Youngmeen Kim, a Ph.D. candidate in applied linguistics and the study’s lead author. “It also shows how people feel. Even when someone does not say, ‘I’m depressed,’ their words can show pain.”

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