Every day, we generate tons of information and make it freely accessible. Those who regularly post on Facebook or Instagram create a precise log of their daily activities and behaviors. DeepDoc is a Polish startup that decided to use all that data for psychological diagnosis. They hope to recognize symptoms of depression basing on the content of your Instagram posts.
The idea of DeepDoc was born when Piotr Podlaś, the current CEO, asked his friend Igor Sawczuk about combing the themes of mental health and A.I. They came up with an idea to use technology that is already present in the users’ lives to track their health in an invisible way that requires minimum effort from the user. “There’s a lot of solutions for physical health tracking available on the market. Still, we tend to neglect our mental health,” said Podlaś. “There’s a social taboo that prevents us from visiting a psychologist. Instead of solving the problem, we try to hide it from the world. We hope to make lives of our users happier and more balanced by integrating our solutions into technology that can be used privately, at home.”
The team behind DeepDoc has profound experience in topics of both mental health and A.I. Piotr Podlaś, the CEO, has spent 6 years as a professional coach and soft skills trainer; he is also a digital marketing specialist. Igor Sawczuk, the CTO of DeepDoc, is a deep learning research engineer and data analyst with over 4 years of experience in building SaaS products and 9 years of experience in software engineering. They were joined by Magda Żołądek, who is the DeepDoc’s designer and a UX specialist. Before joining the team, she worked as a digital designer for brands like Suzuki Motor Poland, Seat, Tic Tac or Ballantine’s.
Once you allow DeepDoc to gather data from your Instagram account, it begins to analyze it using deep learning algorithms. Then, it begins to talk to you via a chatbot, asking simple questions about your wellbeing and offering exercises and activities that will improve your mental health. All comments and recommendations are tailored for the user according to his mental condition. In extreme cases, the product will connect the user directly with a psychologist.
At the moment DeepDoc is still creating a mental health model that will match behavioral patterns with specific activities on Instagram. Over 1300 users have already shared their data with the algorithm. The team plans to launch a commercial version of DeepDoc in February 2017. They also hope to find an investor interested in their product, as they currently fund it from their own pocket.
The biggest strength of DeepDoc lies in simplicity of use. There’s no need to install a separate application – the A.I. communicates with the user via messenger that is already installed on his smartphone. Moreover, it analyzes the data supplied to applications used on everyday basis. The team plans to further integrate other social media and apps (such as activity tracking apps and Spotify) into their algorithm.
“Our long-term goal is to create a health management center that would monitor and influence the mental health of our users,” said Podlaś. “We hope to contribute to the prevention of depression spreading that, according to WHO, will be the second leading cause of world disability in 2020.”
