Meta AI Helps UP Police Save 22-Year-Old Woman From Dying By Suicide

In surprising news, Meta AI had turned out to be a life saviour for a 22-year-old UP woman who was attempting suicide and had posted the video on social media. Thanks to Meta AI’s quick alert, the UP Police were able to act swiftly and save her life in the nick of time. In January 2023, the UP Police collaborated with Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, to utilise AI for suicide prevention.

From January 2023 to August 2024, Meta’s AI played a vital role in saving over 460 lives by detecting suicide-intent posts on these platforms. This greatly showcases a step towards the fast-paced digital development of the nation.

It all began with a post, by the woman who tried to attempt suicide. She originally hails from a small village on Sultanpur Road, Lucknow under Nigoha Police Station.

It was published on August 31, 2024, Saturday noon on her Instagram handle at 12:11 pm. In her post, the woman shared her video in which she was seen standing on a chair, with a red-coloured dupatta tied from a ceiling fan to her neck, preparing for suicide.

"Within moments, after the video was shared, we received an alert from the Meta AI marking the video under the distressed category. The alert was received immediately and subsequently, we forwarded the alert to the respective police station,” a UP Police official said.

Meta's Instant Alerts assists Police in saving lives

On receiving the suicide alert, the police team at Nigoha Police Station swung into action and rushed to the address mentioned in the alert. “It took around 4 minutes for the team, headed by Station-in-Charge Anuj Tiwari, to reach the given address. The team reached outside the woman’s house at 12.15 pm and rushed immediately inside her house and rescued her,” said Rajnish Verma, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Mohanlalganj, adding that the girl’s condition remained stable.

During interrogation, the woman revealed that she had a love marriage in an Arya Samaj temple with a man named Aman. After living together for four months, he refused to accept her, leading to their separation. This rejection drove her to such a gigantic level of grief that she opted for a suicide attempt.

“A case has also been registered against the man for abetment to suicide. The video of the suicide attempt has also been deleted from the woman’s social media page,” said the ACP.

However, this was not the first time when Meta AI turned out to be the rescue source for the police. When such a post appears, Meta’s AI instantly alerts the Social Media Centre at the DGP Headquarters. This Centre, operational 24/7, promptly processes the alert, determining the user’s location and other relevant details. These are then forwarded to the respective police stations, enabling swift intervention and life-saving action.