AI's Struggle to Crack Depression Detection: The Kintsugi Shutdown
Kintsugi, a startup developing AI for depression detection, is shutting down after failing to secure FDA clearance. The challenges highlight the hurdles in bringing AI-powered mental health tools to market.
AI's Struggle to Crack Depression Detection: The Kintsugi Shutdown
For the past seven years, the California-based startup Kintsugi has been developing AI designed to detect signs of depression and anxiety from a person's speech. But after failing to secure FDA clearance in time, the company is shutting down and releasing most of its technology as open-source. Some elements may even find a second life beyond healthcare, like detecting deepfake audio.
Mental health assessments still largely rely on patient questionnaires and clinical interviews, rather than the lab tests or scans common in physical medicine. Instead of focusing on what someone is saying, Kintsugi's software analyzes how it is being said. The company's AI models were trained on thousands of audio recordings, learning to detect subtle vocal patterns that could indicate depression or anxiety.
Source: The Verge
