Gizmodo reports that this app will listen to the user’s voice, cataloging moods, and dialing up your shrink if it thinks you are too depressed. The creators of this Xpression app, EI Technologies, explain that this app will only record your pitch and not words so privacy should not be an issue. It will only work if it is constantly running that way it can always keep track of your voice. Factors that they are using to determine your depression are how loud your voice is, intensity, changes in pitch, and speaking pace. If it determines that your emotional state is dipping, it knows who to call.
Even though they say that it does not record words, but rather pitch and other factors, we are still skeptical when it comes to privacy. It seems as though technology is doing everything for us these days. It takes away from our responsibility of realizing when we need help and puts it in the hands of technology. Do you really need an app that constantly records your conversations and makes its own judgment call on if you need help? For now, the app is in its development stages and clinical trials are set to take place later this year. Keep your eyes peeled! We are curious to see where this goes. There really is an app for everything these days!
