The global social site will use artificial intelligence to identify people who may be at risk

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The global social site will use artificial intelligence to identify people who may be at risk of self-harm.

The new feature will urge people to reach out to friends or contact a helpline if their posts indicate they may be considering taking their own life.

Despite suicide prevention tools being available on the site for the past decade, for the first time AI bots will be employed to analyse posts and identify at-risk people before a tragedy has occurred.

The algorithm is currently being trialled in the US, and is set up to flag posts it deems to harbour suicidal thoughts.