February 26th 2024
Great news from us, we’re now setting up a range of schools to pilot our wellbeing platform. This is going be a great opportunity for us to further refine My Friend in a way that can address the needs of both schools and communities.
It is an exciting time for us and our app, but also for the schools taking part in our pilot. As they will help us guide our app to better support the mental wellbeing of their young children. With our ultimate goal being, accessible wellbeing support for all who need it.
The last week has been exciting for a second reason, and that is the interest we have been receiving from investors.
February 19th 2024
We are excited to announce that our ‘My Friend’ app has gone live in our pilot phase and has been opened up to our first users. The users’ experiences have been very positive in providing the support needed and has also been a great opportunity for us. As we receive invaluable feedback we can continue to learn, develop and improve the ‘My Friend’ experience.
User satisfaction has been overwhelming with comments like:
“My son loves it, keeps asking to go back and talk to Kano.”
“Just had my second session where Kano picked up on our last conversation and the responses were excellent”
“My daughter wants to get back on and chat with Kano so that’s better than her first session with her last counsellor”
As we enter the market we would like to thank all partners and stakeholders for their passionate engagement. We are on a mission and are now delivering.
February 2nd 2024
In today’s world AI is being recognised for its potential benefits across many sectors. One such benefit, is the potential to bring a sense of objectivity to the wellbeing and care sectors. AI can pick up on changes and signs that can be potentially missed by person, leading to a late diagnosis. Being able to catch early signs and struggles means that people can be supported much earlier and more effectively. This allows an opportunity for recovery to be more successful.
Read this fascinating article here:
https://lnkd.in/eugSBhqH
January 17th 2024
2024 has started off with a bang for us at Strategia Data Sciences
We have this week taken the first steps on our investor journey by submitting our application for SEIS and EIS to HMRC and over the coming weeks/months we will be sharing the opportunity with a range of investors to raise the funds we are looking for to continue and expand the development of our exciting product My Friend.
As part of our learning, we are delighted to have been accepted and to be taking part in the Barclays Eagle Labs/Capital Enterprise programme which started this week and not only has there already been some great sessions on the investor landscape but some brilliant opportunities to network with like-minded people.
Thank you to Barclays Eagle Labs and Capital Enterprises and here’s to the next 10 weeks and a successful outcome.
December 21st 2023
A spot light on our Founder & CEO Stephen Sharp
Innovation, technology and client centred solutions are not new to Stephen Sharp. With projects based globally, Steve has led the way on new customer centred digital solutions across banking, travel and industry.
So why move into the health and wellbeing sector? To put it simply, he wanted to do something about the distressing state of emotional wellbeing in our communities. His belief, and hope, is to offer a better understanding and access to wellbeing services so that any problems that may arise in younger years may be identified, allowing treatment to begin sooner. Which can massively benefit an individual’s future.
Stephen has gathered a team of individuals that are passionate about this ever growing problem and is pushing the bounds of technology and customer centred support.
November 11th 2023
We are excited to be in testing our MVP (Minimum Viable Product) wellbeing App (on AWS) for young people. It’s really important for us to gain ‘real’ feedback as we develop and refine the App for ‘real‘ children. We are focused on a customer experience that is genuine, supportive and seamless. And we are incredibly fortunate to have already built a community of engaged and passionate people. So a huge thank you to all those testing My Friend and providing us with constructive feedback – good and challenging. Our iterative build – measure – learn process is pushing My Friend to some incredible capabilities.
Our current round of testing will be closely followed by our pilot at a sample of schools.
November 20th 2023
Naturally we always want the best for all children around the world. When sending our own children to school is no different, where we hope that they will be provided with the best support, in both education and care.
As a parent or carer, we rely on the schools to provide their education but also thorough pastoral care, with the hope that they have the facility and capability to look after the wellbeing needs of our children.
This is where Strategia Data Sciences can help. With the solution that we’re developing called ‘My Friend’ our aim is to assist and support schools in providing accessible and timely care for the children that need it through the App, with a friendly avatar that we believe will provide the child with an understanding or providing the building blocks for coping skills and communicative knowledge.
The avatar is non-threatening, a comfort and a support option that the child can converse with, just as they would a friend, but importantly with no pushback or negative outcomes.
‘My Friend’ will also help Parents and Carers with the knowledge that the avatar is providing this additional care and support with sensitivity and objectivity for their children.
Our journey has begun as we move into our Alpha testing phase, with school pilots being made ready as part of our Beta testing models. If you know of a school that would be interested in learning more about what we are doing, then please get in touch or put them in touch with us, we’d love to hear from them or you.
November 16th 2023
We are excited to introduce, My Friend. My friend is an interactive AI based platform that can listen and communicate with Children, as they talk about their worries and concerns. From school work to personal anxieties, My Friend will offer advice and comfort to those that need it, assisting them in their development and the building of coping skills to help them communicate healthily and more effectively.
The AI uses a range of tools from STT (Speech to Text) through to ML (Machine Learning) and LLM’s (Large Language Models), with sentiment and context analysis built in to better understand the child’s feelings, allowing for unique responses that will support children’s mental, social and emotional wellbeing.
When more serious topics are approached, flags are raised on the platform and passed onto their schools counselling capability. This is so that they can review what is being said and can reach out to a safe guardian for the child to offer potential next steps in care.
We will be sharing our journey from testing to release and we hope you follow us on our journey to help children in need.
November 3rd 2023
Elon Musk tells Rishi Sunak how to find a best friend
https://lnkd.in/eCuUWEzu
“In conversation” at the end of this week’s summit on AI, as reported by the BBC, Elon Musk with Rushi Sunak discussed the state of AI – the future and the implications. One such point raised was that of the possibilities of having the ideal friend – one that supports you with good advice and that is always available.
Mr Musk said “One of my sons has trouble making friends and an AI friend would be great for him.”
The good news #elonmusk – we are well into the development of such a friend!
Enter ‘My Friend’, an online platform designed to do exactly that – to provide a meaningful relationship with a child to support them as they journey through life’s challenging moments. Our first phase is aimed at supporting young children aged 8-12 years old, as we’re convinced there is not currently any where near enough support for young people and the implications on society not naturing our young children has huge implications not only on their individual lives but society as a whole.
And as #elonmusk says – “children need friends” and we are here to help, Elon we would be delighted to hear from you.
October 26th 2023
A powerful article entitled Mental health help for under-fives overlooked by Health reporter Smitha Mundasad for the BBC on Saturday 21 October 2023 –
“There is evidence that intervening very early on may help stop conditions arising or worsening”
More support is needed to prevent babies and young children developing mental health problems in later life, leading doctors say.
Their report shows there is growing evidence that intervening very early on – from conception to the age of five – may help stop conditions arising or worsening. The Royal College of Psychiatrists is calling for more specialist services.
The Royal College of Psychiatrists’ report suggests half of mental health conditions arise by the age of 14, and many start to develop in the first years of life, making early action “vital”.
Dr Trudi Seneviratne, from the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych), said the majority of under-fives with mental health conditions were not receiving the level of support needed “to help them become productive, functioning adults and reach their full potential”.
Joanna Moody, from Unicef UK, said: “Mental health in infancy and early childhood is often overlooked, yet it lays the foundations for a child’s future.”
The importance of early years and the insufficient support available in the area of mental wellbeing has led us to look at how we can make a difference.
The My Friend AI platform through our conversational avatar enables meaningful friendships in a safe and secure environment for children; to support them, their parents and school as they journey through life’s challenging moments. My Friend will identify any dialogue that raises concern for further attention or investigation so that worries, big or small, can be supported quickly. With a greater and more consistent care systems we will enable our children to have a better start, leading to better futures with far reaching benefits across society.
Our CEO Stephen Sharp outlined our vision “Our mission is to support children through life’s challenging moments to enable them to have a better future.”
Follow our journey as we make this a reality with ‘My Friend’.
October 23rd 2023
As we move towards finalising our development and progress into the pilot stage of our platform we are excited to introduce, My Friend. Aimed initially at children aged 8-12 years old. Older age groups and an adult version are currently in development but we believe that identifying the early stages of any mental health issues in these formative years is key to having more focused treatment and support
My Friend is a safe and secure interactive AI platform that will talk and listen to your child. They can talk about anything they want, from school work to their anxieties and worries. In turn this will help them build coping skills or provide knowledge on how to communicate their problems whilst offering advice and comfort to those that need it, day and night.
The AI will use a complex ML (Machine Learning) model that has built in sentiment and context analysis to better understand behaviour and how the child is feeling. Allowing for unique responses that will support children’s mental, social and emotional wellbeing.
We will be sharing our journey from testing to release and we hope you follow us on our journey to help children in need.
October 19th 2023
In today’s world, the global support for children’s mental health is struggling.
With poor funding and extreme waiting times for care (up to two years), it is easy for problems big and small to slip through the cracks and be missed.
But when ‘50% of mental health problems are established by age 14 and 75% by age 24.’(1) we were up for the challenge to try and help.
Mental health disorders among children are described as serious changes in the way that they learn, behave and handle their emotions. If left untreated can cause serious harm in their later lives, leading to greater distress, anxieties, depression and problems with just getting through the day.
With the statistics on mental health getting worse, we felt compelled to build a solution that helps children in their formative years to develop coping skills, allowing them to communicate effectively, whilst helping them to grow in confidence and knowledge.
Follow us on our journey as we present our solution, My Friend, from testing to release, as we try and make the world a better place.
Strategia Data Sciences – Developing solutions that matter
(1) Kessler RC, Berglund P, Demler O, Jin R Merikangas KP, Walters EE. (2005). Lifetime Prevalence and Age-of-Onset Distributions of DSM-IV Disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replications.
October 17th 2023
It was interesting to see the research undertaken, commented by Samuel Osborne, Sky News on Monday 16 October 2013 –
The AI chatbot ChatGPT could be better at following treatment standards for depression than human doctors, a study suggests.
The technology could improve decision making in primary care, researchers said, as it is capable of following recognised treatment standards without any gender or social class biases that are sometimes a factor between humans.
https://lnkd.in/eni-Ux6e
Another massive benefit of our My Friend AI platform is its objectivity. Being able to provide care and support that is consistent and without and gender, age or social biases which can too often be exhibited by humans is a huge step forward in accessible good care for all.
The My Friend AI platform enables meaningful friendships with children; to support them as they journey through life’s challenging moments. With a greater and more consistent care systems we will enable our children to have a better start in our world leading to a better future.
Follow our journey as we make this a reality with ‘My Friend’.
October 10th 2023
The 2023 theme for World Mental Health Day as set by the World Foundation of Mental Health, is ‘Mental Health is a universal human right’.
According to Olly Parker, Head of External Affairs at Young Minds “the increase of young people seeking mental health support from the NHS is unsustainable. Isolation, disruption to education and reduced access to support have had an immense impact on children’s mental health. While more young people are receiving support, the rise in the number of people looking for support and help is constant.”
Our mission at Strategia Data Sciences is to support child mental and emotional wellbeing for all children. Our aim, through our platform, is to ensure support is accessible to all children irrespective of social, economic and political circumstances and readily available 24/7 when needed most. With “1 in 5 (19.9%) 7 to 16 year olds lived in households that experienced a reduction in household income in the past year. This was more than 1 in 4 (28.6%) among children with a probable mental disorder.”*, providing an elastic support system for all has to be the focus. With a greater and more consistent care systems we will enable our precious children to have a better start in our world.
Follow our journey as we get out there and strive to make this a reality with ‘My Friend’.
* Mental Health of Children and Young People in England, 2022: NHS digital, Leeds
October 9th 2023
Some great news this week for the team at Strategia Data Sciences and the community we’re aiming to positively support, as we race forward in developing a platform to support the mental and emotional wellbeing of young children with an intelligent avatar interface.
We have been accepted onto the AWS Build Accelerator programme which means further acknowledgement that our mission is sound and our platform validified.
This is a tremendous boost heading us towards our pilot where we’ll be gaining maximum feedback from children, parents and schools so that we get our customer experience just right and can make a positive impact towards reducing the severity of child mental health.
More updates to follow as we continue on this exciting journey.
It is with great interest that I read Open-AI ChatGPT are updating their viral chatbot with a voice conversational feature. This is without doubt a great step forward in the world of generative AI and Large Language Modelling.
I am pleased to say we have been working on a conversational based model using ChatGPT and can announce we now have a working AI avatar that provides conversation to the user based on the back-end using ChatGPT allowing the user to cover any or all topics they may wish to discuss. I emphasise discuss, not text. Discussing anything from how to open a bank account, to backing a cake, to mental health.
In reality, you can have a discussion on a full range of topics.
We are very pleased to be at the forefront of the ground-breaking technology and our App is coming soon. Over the coming weeks we will tell you our story of why and how we have developed our product and what we hope it achieves as we build on this exciting journey.
If you would like to read the two articles please click here, or here.
