The EBI app was created by (from left) product manager Jackie Tan, backend engineer Joshua Lai, full stack developer Richard Xiong, and user experience designer Jocelyn Teo. - Photo: Lianhe Zaobao
SINGAPORE: Want to process your thoughts by journalling, but not sure where to start? The Emotional Baggage Interface, or EBI, is an app that helps people to articulate their feelings more clearly through prompts that are powered by artificial intelligence (AI).
Besides typing out their responses to these prompts as notes, users of EBI can also describe their emotions to a chatbot, or have a conversation with a voice assistant that can respond in Singlish with the use of OpenAI models.
The app then generates a summary of the key concerns and coping mechanisms from various journaling entries and conversations, so that users can track their progress and easily share their thoughts with mental health professionals.
Developer Richard Xiong, 25, said: “We spoke to therapists, who said journalling is a great coping mechanism and a way to practise mindfulness. So our app tries to lower the barriers of entry to journalling and give people more conversational options through the chatbot and voice input.”
EBI was one of five new technology solutions to tackle eldercare, mental health, sustainability, and other community issues that were launched at the National Library on Nov 30.
They came from teams who in September won the month-long Build For Good citizen hackathon, which brought together some 100 participants, including students, tech professionals and public officers, to use technology to tackle societal issues.
The teams then underwent an accelerator programme to take them closer to deploying their products after winning.
During the eight-week programme that began on Oct 12, the five teams were mentored and attended workshops by founders of start-ups, social enterprises and industry experts.
They were also connected to partners that could provide them with suitable users to test their products.
Each team received $20,000 in funding from Open Government Products (OGP), which had organised the hackathon in collaboration with the Singapore Government Partnerships Office.
EBI’s Xiong, a civil servant, said the accelerator enabled his team to zoom in on what their app’s value proposition should be, because they were still unclear about their target audience after winning the hackathon in September.
The team – which includes a pharmacist-turned-user experience designer, a fintech start-up co-founder, and a university student – was mentored by a venture capitalist. They were also given credits to use OpenAI’s systems.
EBI was pilot-tested in November by 13 users. They said the prompts were helpful, but also requested other features, such as a way to import journal entries from existing apps they are using.
The team plans to work with therapists and social service agencies that might be able to use EBI to complement their journalling-based intervention programmes. A beta version of the app is available at app.ebi.sg
Three other products launched at the finale of the Build For Good accelerator seek to address gaps in eldercare, given that one in four Singaporeans will be aged 65 and older by 2030, up from about one in five today.
Among them was Let’s Kaypoh (letskaypoh.org), an online platform that rallies volunteers and members of the public to visit seniors living alone around them to check on their well-being. According to the Ministry of Health, some 79,000 seniors currently live alone.
Using a map and a language filter, the “kaypoh” users can find seniors living near them who speak the same language. The socially isolated seniors were identified by Active Ageing Centres (AACs).
After their visits, users can key in their observations about the seniors’ well-being, such as their physical health, mood and living conditions, and flag seniors who may need more assistance to the AACs.
Senior Minister of State for Digital Development and Information Janil Puthucheary said the Government does not have a monopoly on good ideas, and the Build For Good teams are an example of citizens developing solutions that have a positive impact on society.
“All of us can play a very meaningful part in creating that vision for Singapore... where our technology and our smart nation efforts build a better community,” said Dr Janil, who is also Minister-in-charge of GovTech.
Another 10 teams from the hackathon received $5,000 under the Build For Good starter fund to help them to continue refining their products and conduct small-scale pilots to gear up for launch.
Joycelyn Chua, 33, a product designer for (Re)store, a web browser extension that suggests eco-friendly alternatives to users when they are shopping online, said the funding from OGP will help her team with the cost of marketing and introducing incentives for users.
OGP director Li Hongyi said the starter fund was introduced because many teams who did not win the Build For Good hackathon really believed in their projects and wanted to try to get them launched.
“We want to give people who are trying to do good the best chance of success, and to really help them solve the problems that they want to solve.” - The Straits Times/ANN
