Gigaom Minute – June 15

Transcript

• Feeling a little low? Never fear Woebot is here. Woebot is a personal chatbot clinically shown to improve symptoms of depression and anxiety. Developed by Stanford University School of Medicine, Woebot uses machine learning to deliver cognitive behavior therapy techniques and is now available in Facebook Messenger. The bot costs $39 per month and offers a free two-week trial. Read more.

• Looking for the next great job, but don’t want to broadcast your search to a current employer? A job search company called Workey is using AI to more privately match job seekers with potential employers. Candidates are matched anonymously and, if a company wants to learn more the candidate is notified. The Tel Aviv startup launched in the U.S. last week and has plans to open an office in New York City. Read more.

• AIBusiness.com reports astronomers are turning to AI and machine learning to help clean up images of space. With the help of computer scientists and artificial intelligence, details in images that are too difficult to be seen even by state-of-the-art telescopes are now being revealed. Read more.

• As part of a “no wrong door” approach to digital government services, the General Services Administration will soon pilot a federal blockchain initiative to examine how AI and other smart measures can improve government services. With an eye on integrating public data into devices such as Amazon Alexa, Microsoft Cortona, Google Assistant and IBM Watson, AI could help answer questions typically handled by customer service representatives at the IRS, Social Security Administration, and other public institutions. Read more.