Deep Longevity, a unit of Hong Kong-listed Endurance RP Limited, has developed a web-based psychological test powered by a deep learning model.

WHAT IT DOES

The online application called FuturSelf uses a novel AI model of human psychology that estimates a user's psychological age and creates a personalised mental health programme based on their psychological profile.

The web service is based on the results of an academic research project by Deep Longevity in partnership with Dr Nancy Etcoff of the Harvard Medical School. 

Their study, which was published in the biomedical peer-reviewed journal Aging US, has developed two digital models of human psychology. The first model is an ensemble of deep neural networks that can predict both the chronological age and psychological wellbeing of a person in 10 years. The second model is a self-organising map that can serve as a foundation of a recommendation engine for mental health applications.

Anonymised data collected from FuturSelf will be used to further develop the platform.

According to a press release, the proponents of the study from which the online psych test is based are working on a follow-up study on the effect of happiness on physiological measures of ageing.

WHY IT MATTERS

The impact of the global pandemic on workspaces has brought down productivity and has increased absenteeism among workers around the world, pushing employers to modernise their approach to mental health. 

However, "[e]xisting mental health applications offer generic advice that applies to everyone yet fits no one," claimed Alex Zhavoronkov, chief longevity officer at Deep Longevity.

Zhavoronkov emphasised that FuturSelf is "scientifically sound and offers superior personalisation" compared to other online self-help services.

"Using Deep Longevity's digital approach to managing mental health, an invaluable feedback loop is created that can help employees thrive by increasing their motivation and productivity or allowing them to seek important emotional support when required," the company said in a statement.

Deep Longevity is planning to offer FuturSelf as a B2B SaaS to insurance companies, corporations, and other employers looking to keep track of their employees' mental health and wellbeing.

MARKET SNAPSHOT

The launch of the FuturSelf psych test app follows the development of Deep Longevity's web-based COVID Risk Calculator, an online tool that can provide an estimate of survival of a hospitalised COVID-19 patient. The calculator was created based on a deep learning model called BloodAge, which analyses blood test reports of COVID-19-positive patients to quantify their ageing process.

In other news, Australia-based Cogstate launched early this year its digital brain assessment tool Cogmate in Taiwan and Hong Kong. The web and mobile platform renders a user's brain performance index, which is a measure of cognition, such as memory and decision making.