#crisislines — Public Fediverse posts

📣 The "AI" Infestation of 988 Lifeline

1/ Crisis line advocacy white paper against "AI" use. I began writing this back in 2022. I'm not discouraging use of crisis lines. I'm respecting the humanity of those who call.

I present the case that "AI" use will destroy four essentials of crisis line care: authentic human care, trust in institutions of care, meaningful consent, and hope.

I use prominent examples of "AI" heavy tech company approaches to care by Behavioral Health Link and Lyssn. io, Inc.

I present examples of how big data, big "AI" mega corporations such as SalesForce, Amazon, Microsoft, Twilio, Vonage, RingCentral are deeply involved.

I share big clues how the direction is headed towards embedding and tracking into EHR, with its mega corporations such as MultiCare, and more.

#CrisisLines #988Lifeline #NoAI
https://reformcrisistextline.com/the-ai-infestation-of-988-lifeline/

Is it too much to ask that persons calling, texting, chatting with publicly offered #CrisisLines services be protected from being USED for something w/o their knowledge much less consent? The same for those who answer? No, basic respect is not too much to ask.

New reporting from #RobWipond for #MadInAmerica.

"New national data shows, in 1 year, a stunning 400,000 people got police/EMS visits after calling the "confidential" 988 hotline --a 7.8% intervention rate on callers that's nearly four times higher than #Vibrant and #SAMHSA have ever publicly admitted."

https://www.madinamerica.com/2024/06/dramatic-rise-in-police-interventions-on-988-callers/

#988Lifeline #CrisisLines #YourConsentIsNotRequired

I'm realizing that #AIDefeat & #NoConsent could be effective tools w/ #Solidarity to resist tech companies bringing "AI" & surveillance to care systems for emotional distress, such as they are. These tools combined with organizing and support to empower people seeking help, who are vulnerable.

It's a paradox, wanting to avoid putting any burden on persons at their most difficult moments. This is also the moment of exploitation for their data and when meaningful consent is not possible for any complicated ask.

This is creative work, these tools could have power of their own. Hopeful.
#MentalHealth #CrisisLines #988Lifeline #CrisisTextLine #StopOxevision

3/ "...As a Staff Data Engineer you will partner with product managers and data consumers to meet our internal analytics and client data needs. You will use our modern data platform - which uses infrastructure and tools like Kafka, Postgres, Aurora, Spark, Databricks, Sisense, Amazon S3, Amazon Redshift, Jenkins, Docker, and Kubernetes - to meet your goals. You will oversee the entire lifecycle of data pipeline development from data discovery and design to quality and maintenance. As part of the larger Data Engineering team, you will report to an Engineering Manager."
#LLM #AI #CrisisLines #DataEthics

http://web.archive.org/web/20231005144819/https://www.crisistextline.org/join-our-staff/

2/ [#CrisisTextLine job announcement, link at very end, more where this came from]

Staff Data Engineer.
"Crisis Text Line's software engineers develop the next-generation data platform that changes how millions of humans connect with volunteer crisis counselors, our clinical staff and the interaction with one another. Our platform needs to handle information at a massive scale and extend well beyond SMS as a channel. We're looking for engineers who bring fresh ideas from all areas, including information processing, distributed computing, large-scale system design, networking and data storage, security, artificial intelligence, natural language processing, UI design, and mobile. .."
(cont'd)
#LLM #AI #CrisisLines #DataEthics

Linking here to important work by Dan Fichter (he/him) and Greta Opzt (they/them) from survey of #CrisisLineWorkers. Final report here:
https://www.crisiscrowd.org/survey/2023/report

& here's a link to webpage with other resources, Dan's notes on the study and #KaiserFamilyFoundation reporting out today.
https://www.crisiscrowd.org/

Thoughts: This is important because it centers the voices of #CrisisLine workers. Also, because Dan and Greta have the ability--and access--to communicate the messages to authorities within the systems.

In the US, the federal gov't agency #SAMHSA contracts with a non-profit #Vibrant to administer the #988Lifeline. This might solve some problems, but it creates many others. Non-profit is a tax designation & this is a capitalist system of "care". It also makes accountability difficult, except for the most egregious offenses that catch a day of heat, then we move on. Besides these links, you also got my commentary!
#CrisisLines #KFF

I'm working on building a list of contacts - individuals and orgs - w/ ability to reach individual crisis line workers. Organizing is on horizon.

#CrisisLine workers are typically isolated. In some cases, intentionally, by orgs they work for.

📢 Send contacts my way please! ty

My email is at advocacy website contact page: https://reformcrisistextline.com/contact/
#CrisisLines #Organizing

#TransLifeline has announced limited hours and an end-of-year pause. They have a $2.5M shortfall & their workers have been stretched thin.

They do not qualify for the wealth of funding available from US gov't #988Lifeline program, which requires adherence to involuntary intervention policy (can mean unwanted cops).

My gratitude to TransLifeline, just knowing such a vital service with integrity is there, gives hope. Please contribute if you can.

Hours of service and pause dates at link:
https://translifeline.org/new-hours-eoy-pause-hotline-operations/
#CrisisLines #SAMHSA #Vibrant

Article "Crisis hotlines, like Canada’s new 988, promise confidentiality. So why do so many trace calls and texts?"

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-crisis-hotlines-like-canadas-new-988-promise-confidentiality-so-why-do/

Excellent reporting by Rob Wipond on Canada's crisis line services, 988 and related. Unwanted interventions, consent, deception, exploitation. We don't need these in any crisis line service. #CrisisLines #AI #DataEthics

This is a resource I put together to affirm a person's right to consent, especially when vulnerable.
https://reformcrisistextline.com/wp-content/uploads/My_Crisis_Consent_Directive_2023-10-25.pdf

This and a 988 Lifeline handout are available at my advocacy website:
https://reformcrisistextline.com/references/#handouts
#CrisisLines #988Lifeline #DataEthics #Consent

I've added a References page to my advocacy website. It's something I've had in mind to do for a very long time and is a work in progress. It serves as a collection of documentation relating to #CrisisTextLine, all in one place.
https://reformcrisistextline.com/references/
#CrisisLines

In the USA, we gift public funds to private company owner researchers to fund their development of proprietary "#MentalHealth" software, which they then sell to gov't agencies and other service providers while extracting sensitive data.

Who is this health system for? I forget.
#CrisisLines ' #AI ' #NLP

"Bridge2AI: Voice as a Biomarker of Health - Building an ethically sourced, bioaccoustic database to understand disease like never before"
link to research grant page at US NIMH
https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10858564

Sharing for awareness, and if there is a way, stopping the mental health component of this study.

My comment: A massive human voice dataset is being assembled for '#AI ' so-called sentiment & empathy detection with planned application to "Mood and Psychiatric Disorders (Depression, Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorders)"
(Among other applications in health.)
They claim they will address ethics.
$5.3M US fed funding.

Yes, they included #AIHype right in their title.
#MentalHealth #CrisisLines

#CrisisTextLine is hiring to go "well beyond SMS" to the next gen "artificial intelligence" "natural language processing". Be aware of their spin-off for-profit #LorisAI, which claims sentiment detection & real-time conv. evals, prompts for call centers.

"Crisis Text Line's software engineers develop the next-generation data platform that changes how millions of humans connect with volunteer crisis counselors, our clinical staff and the interaction with one another. Our platform needs to handle information at a massive scale and extend well beyond SMS as a channel. We're looking for engineers who bring fresh ideas from all areas, including information processing, distributed computing, large-scale system design, networking and data storage, security, artificial intelligence, natural language processing, UI design, and mobile."

link to job announce (archived):
http://web.archive.org/web/20231005144819/https://www.crisistextline.org/join-our-staff/
#CrisisLines '#AI ' #NLP

Just starting to get a sense of the magnitude and momentum of this: corporations with "AI" pseudo-science positioning themselves to get into the #CrisisLines "market". In such a competitive setting, it will push the claims of accuracy & $$$ savings into hyper-hype. #988Lifeline

For awareness, US corporations #ProtoCall and #Lyssn earlier this year received a $2.1M US federal grant from NIMH to research & implement an "AI" system within the state of New Mexico 988 Lifeline crisis line response. With the usual assurances that all is well. I, of course, am opposed to such utter disrespect for human beings & intend, with help, to put a stop to it. I'm working on some things. Protocall is a #988Lifeline provider approved by nonprofit #Vibrant, fed agency #SAMHSA's grantee administrator. #CrisisLines
#StatNews article Mario Aguilar June 2023
https://www.statnews.com/2023/06/22/988-suicide-hotline-lyssn-protocall-artificial-intelligence/
Lyssn press release:
https://www.lyssn.io/nimh-awards-lyssn-first-of-its-kind-988-grant/

Link to poem, hosted at my advocacy website. Thank you for your interest, these are difficult, painful ideas to hold and consider. Hopefulness is here, also.
https://reformcrisistextline.com/de-identified-you/
#CrisisLines #DataEthics #AI #Consent #988Lifeline

I put together this #988Lifeline - Changes Needed handout. Issues: Cops, Data, & lack of consent around both. I'm extremely concerned about the lack of attention w/in our crisis care systems to the 988 data issues. Who else is watching this? Join together.
https://reformcrisistextline.com/wp-content/uploads/988Lifeline-ChangesNeeded_2023-09-12.pdf
#CrisisLines #DataEthics #AI #Consent

Here's the removal and re-titling of paid staff at US nonprofit #NEDA (National Eating Disorder Assocation). Doesn't include dismissal of about 200 #HelpLine volunteers. Union busting and chatbot thrown in for good measure. Who suffers?

1. BEFORE: May 30, 2023. See Program Dept.
http://web.archive.org/web/20230530160847/https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/about-us/staff

2. AFTER: June 12, 2023. Program Dept - 5 Helpline Associates removed. 2 Helpline Supervisors' stay with their titles changed to "Senior Associate, Resources" Leadership - VP Comms & Marketing position gone.
http://web.archive.org/web/20230612151657/https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/about-us/staff

If you're able, please support the Wayback Machine - for accountability. https://archive.org/donate?origin=iawww-TopNavDonateButton

#CrisisLines #NonProfits