The beginning of the Year 2020 saw the world change like never before. A deadly virus called Covid-19 hit humanity, catching all of us unaware and creating a new world no one had imagined or foreseen.
As the global economy began to shut down due to lockdowns and restrictions, each individual faced a new challenge and tumultuous times.
In the ever-changing normal each individual was surrounded and pinned down by economic crisis, social and personal tragedies and constant fear.
The worst-hit were Medical and Paramedical staff, Police personnel, public servants and students as they were fighting in the face of the storm.
At the same time, those losing their jobs or sources of income felt the brunt of it.
All this culminated into the world facing mental traumas and illnesses like never before.
This is when human beings distinctively felt the need for mental health well-being for themselves and their loved ones.
As progressive as we might have become, mental health issues are still considered as a stigma and the ratio of Psychiatrists compared to people is still far less than required.
Thus as the unprecedented stress took a toll on people, the mental health facilities began to fill up resulting in long waiting periods and anxiety.
With helplessness and distress at the highest, the need to address the mental health issues and depression at this juncture was urgent, vital and of paramount significance.
All about Irel8
Irel8bot is a chatbot developed and designed specifically for people from service backgrounds (police, firemen personnel etc.) to boost mental wellbeing.
The AI-powered virtual chatbots are programmed to make people feel better by having conversations with them.
These bots are designed to create a community that can talk and support people battling extreme stress, anxiety and loneliness.
NLP (Natural Language Processing) enables the Ire8bot to identify the behavioural patterns of the person for example while chatting the bot can identify and establish if professional help and counselling are required for that particular person and the urgency of it.
With Artificial Intelligence at its aid, the Irel8bot immediately assigns a mental health professional to that person.
The Bot aims to prevent suicide or any self-harming tendencies of people by providing timely intervention, counselling and motivation.
Chatbots that can identify and assist in the mental well being of people could be a big breakthrough in coping with stressful mechanisms during the pandemic and in the times to come as the world adapts to the new normal.
The wish to change with the changing world and combat the virus with all our strength and efforts is the key idea behind the development of this Bot.
We believe that the war with Covid-19 will have to be fought at many levels, mental health being one of the most important among them.
The Bot has received lots of claims and positive reviews in its initial tests. So through constant improvisation, we aspire to make this Bot an important weapon in winning the war against the Coronavirus. (not for the covid, it will also be used in future and times to come.)