Latest news with #SamuelLerman
Time of India
16 hours ago
- Health
- Time of India
New AI app claims it can read your mind through your face. Here's how
At a time when mental health awareness is on the rise and technology is more personal than ever, a new artificial intelligence application is blurring the line between self-care and surveillance. Emobot , a French medical tech startup, has developed an app that uses facial recognition to monitor emotional states—just from your smartphone's selfie camera. The app is already being used by hundreds of patients, mainly in France, where it is classified as a medical device. According to The Metro , Emobot tracks facial expressions throughout the day and creates emotion graphs much like a fitness tracker logs steps or heart rate. The goal? To help psychiatrists monitor mood swings, gauge treatment effectiveness, and even detect early signs of relapse in patients battling depression. It Watches You—But Not Like You Think Understandably, the idea of an app that keeps your camera running in the background all day might raise some eyebrows. Emobot co-founder Samuel Lerman admitted to The Metro that the team was initially "skeptical" about user acceptance. 'The camera is open in the background all the time,' he explained. 'However, the feedback was pretty good.' by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like If You Eat Ginger Everyday for 1 Month This is What Happens Tips and Tricks Undo To address privacy concerns, Lerman clarified that no visual data is transmitted to a central server or stored. All AI processing takes place locally on the user's phone, and any images are immediately deleted after analysis. In its next iteration, the app may also analyze users' voice tones through the phone's microphone to gather more data on emotional well-being. The Face of Future Healthcare? When Metro reporter Jen Mills tested Emobot's emotion recognition tech at the VivaTech conference in Paris, the live facial analysis software identified her as 'pleased' and 'bored' at the same time—highlighting the complex spectrum of human emotion the app attempts to map. MORE STORIES FOR YOU ✕ « Back to recommendation stories I don't want to see these stories because They are not relevant to me They disrupt the reading flow Others SUBMIT Lerman believes Emobot is a breakthrough in mental health diagnostics. 'It helps doctors track patients' responses to treatment as well as detect sudden deterioration of their mood,' he said. It could serve as a real-time warning system for depression and burnout, particularly for users at high risk of relapse. Emobot's launch comes amid a larger trend within the tech world, where mental health is becoming a central focus. At VivaTech 2025, which featured over 14,000 startups from 50 countries, AI-powered healthcare solutions were among the most discussed innovations. The surge in interest reflects a growing belief that digital tools can—and should—be used to support mental well-being in daily life.
NDTV
18 hours ago
- Health
- NDTV
Your Phone's Selfie Camera Can Now Detect Depression. Here's How
A new technology is emerging that utilises the front-facing camera on devices to analyse emotions and monitor mental health. An app called Emobot is already being used by hundreds of patients to track their mood and assess the effectiveness of their depression treatment. The app analyses facial expressions throughout the day and generates a report, similar to a step count or heart rate graph. According to co-founder Samuel Lerman, Emobot is classified as a medical device in France, and the company is collaborating with psychiatrists to prescribe it to patients. According to The Metro, the team was initially afraid people would find this too intrusive, given the app constantly watches you, and a future version will even listen to your tone of voice as you go about your day via the phone microphone. Mr Lerman said, "The camera is open in the background all the time." So we were a bit skeptical about that aspect; however, the feedback was pretty good." He told The Metro that no photos from the camera are transmitted to a central database or stored, as they are processed locally by AI on the user's phone and deleted. This technology is similar to that being developed for office workers to check if they are really sitting at their computer or if they appear tired. We tried the emotion mapping software on display at the VivaTech conference in Paris, and a real-time image showed reporter Jen Mills as appearing both 'pleased' and 'bored' at the same time. Mr Lerman said the app helps doctors track patients' responses to treatment as well as 'detect sudden deterioration of their mood' and relapse risk. The focus on mental well-being was also evident at VivaTech 2025, where over 14,000 startups from more than 50 countries gathered. While artificial intelligence (AI) dominated the event, many of the most discussed innovations used AI and technology to improve healthcare and mental health, signalling a growing prioritisation of mental health in the tech industry.
