A Software That Stops Cyberbullying

MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, MASSACHUSETTS, USA. Anti-bullying software that can easily detect even the most subtle derogatory or hurtful remarks/comments on social media sites. This is a very helpful invention that will put an end to cyberbullying that has resulted to an increase in teenage crimes and suicides.

Words are very powerful and in our advanced society, it has been proven a number of times already. The popularity of social media sites like Facebook and Twitter is just remarkable. It has been very effective in promoting businesses, socio-economic causes and even finding long lost friends or relatives. The major downside of these sites is that they have been very effective mediums for cyberbullying.

Karthik Dinakar, an MIT scholar has created programs that can easily detect even the slightest harmful comments on Twitter and Facebook. The software that he developed can identify common words that are associated with bullying. His goal is to put an end to public insults, debasing remarks and defamations that have led to suicides and teen crimes.

The software can easily recognize typical bullying words such as “fat” or “ugly”. Also, it can detect phrases with subtler forms of bullying like “You need to lose weight”. The software analyzes the writer’s intentions when posting his or her derogatory comments. It has been tested on MTV’s website A Thin Line where teens give advice about common problems.

Teens are still growing emotionally. In this case, they are not reliable when it comes to giving advice to one another. Also, they need to understand and accept that they are not alone in their plight. They are in the phase of their lives that they are most vulnerable and bullying is something that they do not need.

The AI software created by Dinakar can be incorporated in Facebook’s campaign in reporting abusive contents, cyberbullying and fake profiles. In the future, it can be integrated in other sites where cyberbullying thrives. We cannot rely on teens with unstable emotions to think before they click. We must be vigilant in ending senseless deaths and crimes caused by cyberbullying.