Bullying is a problem that increasingly concerns us parents and society in general. The figures scare, both outside and inside the centers. In addition, one of the obstacles in the fight against bullying is its detection, sometimes very complicated, since most children do not tell anyone what happens to them.
The good news is that there are more and more educational and technological advances to fight him. The Watson IBM firm introduces us to SNOW, the robot that fights bullying and cyberbullying. How does it work? Then visit the schools, identify the cases: the stalker, victim and leader and reduce the conflict by more than 40%. Great!
SNOW comes to visit the educational centers and through conversations and games with children and young people, from 8 to 16 years, empathize with them, and identify cases of bullying. Nowadays 85% of students do not tell their problems to parents or teachersTherefore, any tool that helps detection is very important. The Watson IBM firm is the one that has developed this project of cognitive artificial intelligence, in charge of fighting against 'bullying' and 'cyberbullying', and which its creators explained during the International Symposium on Applied Innovation (IMAT), has been tested with 4,000 schoolchildren and in the schools to which it has gone, bullying has dropped 40%.
The SNOW robot, name with which it has been baptized for its white color, is just over a meter tall, has two arms that look like small wings, slides instead of walking and has a round screen instead of a face. He is also able to dialogue and analyze the responses of those children who wish to speak with him. Interact with students in a modern way, empathize and gain the confidence of students.
However expert the human being, when he speaks he emits certain energy, value judgments, involuntary gestures, which condition the child; but the robot empathizes 100%, is able to detect feelings, to break the barrier of silence and gives them total confidence. In addition, children now are "digital natives", so they see with total normality interact with a robot.
The robot already has five replicas in operation and is the most attractive showcase of the project, but the really novel and substantial thing is that this "artificial intelligence" can work in almost any digital format: a computer, a tablet and even a mobile. The application of this technology has a cost from two euros per month per student and is designed to become a common tool in schools.
Gustavo Beltrán, from the ESIC Business Incubator and director of the company KIO Artificial Intelligence, explained that his company carries out the Watsomapp program: “the world's first online method that detects and prevents bullying through artificial intelligence from IBM” and that "with the visit of SNOW, children pass a gamified test", through games and questions "you get very valuable information for the school, which will allow them to make better decisions."
The purpose is to identify the "excellent mediator leader," who "is respected by both the harassed and the stalker." The center encourages him to act "and try to help the harassed person". Regarding the operation of the robot, Beltrán explained that they have developed “some algorithms capable of giving very real probabilistic information about what is happening”. "You get how the classes are, if they are cohesive, if there is a high segregation between boys and girls or if there are many conflicts and why." “When you talk with groups of 25 or 30 children and ask them who they would sit on the trip to an excursion, or who they would choose first in their team”, we are identifying the most socialized group, who are the “invisible”, what problems are there? "Or if they go to school at ease."
Bullying in Spain
According to data released by Watsomapp, the world's first online method that detects and prevents harassment, 1 in 10 students may be currently experiencing harassment.
In addition, 85% of children do not report their problems to parents or teachers, while a large percentage of schools currently have problems with bullying.
In 2016 alone, the ANAR Foundation (Assistance to Children and Adolescents at Risk) registered 1,207 cases, which represents a large increase of 87.7% in the last year, and 240% since 2015.
Telephone 900 018 018 against bullying of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports received in 2016, for only two months a total of 5,552 calls, of which 1,955 were identified as possible cases of 'bullying'.
We only hope that SNOW will soon be in the maximum possible number of schools and continue to reap success rates against bullying.
- Photo | IMAT / ESIC
- In Babies and more | The desperate appeal of a mother on Twitter to the bullying that her son is suffering: "has thought about taking his own life", What is the KiVa program and how does it prevent bullying?
