A naukri.com initiative
TechCrunch
4w
294
Image Credit: TechCrunch
Can AI make us feel less alone? The founder of Manifest thinks so
- Amy Wu, founder of the AI-based mental health app Manifest, predicts there will be unicorns of companies addressing loneliness. Manifest is an app seeking to mitigate rises in loneliness among Gen Z by offering AI affirmation and personalised audio meditation. The app is designed to be something people can use for a few minutes every day to feel more grounded. From a risk standpoint, the app could opt to provide suicide hotlines to users rather than experiment with AI as a tool to prevent self-harm.
- Wu explains that people are already using consumer tools when legitimately seeking medical care isn't accessible. The Manifest app generates a personalised audio meditation based on user input provided through a gradient orb.
- Manifest raised $3.4m in its seed stage from investors including firm a16z Speedrun mentions Wu, adding the app is meant to be an end-all-be-all mental health solution or replacement for actual mental health treatment due to ethical and legal challenges.
- Users have generated 18.7 million "manifestations" in the app since the stealth launch.
- Wu thinks that tech needs to happen where people are already; her company will use Gen Z's constant use of devices to offer wellness support.
- Manifest's safeguards include redirecting users to suicide hotlines - the AI is not used as a tool to help prevent self-harm. Other applications battling loneliness, such as Nomi AI, take a different approach. When Nomi AI users express self-harm thoughts, the AI companions try to talk them through their feelings, rather than halting conversations.
- Manifest, which is expected to be one of several companies to address the loneliness epidemic, is still in its seed stage, but it has already raised funds from a16z and other firms.
- Manifest is intended to ease the struggles of Gen Z by providing an easy and pleasant wellness experience.
- Wu contends that she did not have access to something like her app while she attended Stanford as an undergraduate, and her experiences are part of the inspiration for Manifest.
- The app is an invitation for users to look after their own emotional toolkit. The app's AI programming turns user input into affirmations for personalised audio meditation.
Read Full Article
17 Likes
For uninterrupted reading, download the app