Apple Corps hopes that its users will soon be able to diagnose depression, anxiety, and mental retardation, and that initial experiments have been performed.
Although it will keep information and identity confidential. In this regard, facial recognition, voice, sleep, heartbeat, sleep, and other conditions should be examined for which various tools are being developed. According to Apple, walking patterns and breathing patterns are also examined to identify mental states. Even the typing and speed of words on a smartphone are taken into account.
In this regard, Apple has partnered with the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). On the other hand, pharmaceutical company Biogen will also look into other low-grade mental illnesses. UCLA’s program has been dubbed ‘Sea Breeze’ and Biogen’s joint venture has been dubbed ‘Pie’. However, not all of this information will be sent to any of Apple’s cloud or data servers.
The formal trial will begin next year, with UCLA experts reviewing 3,000 people. In the next two years, Biogen will take data from 20,000 people, half of whom, or 10,000 people, will go for some form of mental illness but the severity of the disease will be less.
Algorithms and software will be built on the data of about 23,000 people. But Apple says these are just the beginning and a lot of work needs to be done. However, Apple has admitted that they will now use the iPhone to diagnose mental illness.
Some time ago, Jeff Williams, CEO of Apple Health Unit, told his employees that the rates of depression and stress are rising all over the world and his company is making serious efforts in this regard.
