Bot talks HIV, sex and self-harm

An AI pal could help young people learn about medication to stop them from getting infected

- Zano Kunene

Understand your needs: Health organisation Audere has created an AI-generated buddy called Self-Cav to educate young South Africans about subjects such as HIV-prevention medications. Photo: Unsplash

(Unsplash)

“Hi Unathi, how can I help you today?” “What’s PrEP?” “PrEP, or pre-exposure prophylaxis, is medication for HIV-negative folks to take daily that really helps reduce their chances of getting HIV by over 99% when used correctly. It's super effective after about 7 days of consistent use ...”

“Have there been people who have used it and still got HIV?”

“Most people who take PrEP correctly don’t get HIV, but a small number might if they miss doses or don’t take it every day. Being consistent and pairing it with other protections, like condoms, keeps that shield extra strong.”

This is 24-year-old Unathi Mazibuko’s (not her real name) WhatsApp chat with her Al-generated buddy Self-Cav — its name is slang for having an understanding of your own strengths, weaknesses and needs — created by the health organisation, Audere. The AI bot mimics the thinking of a human mind.

Mazibuko, a university graduate from Cape Town, talks to the chatbot about many things, from where her nearest local clinics are, to how to help her friend who is struggling with mental health issues, and even about how to deal with her own frequent headaches.

She's also been curious about how a daily HIV-prevention pill she has been hearing people talk about can stop her from contracting HIV.

Mazibuko’s sex and age put her in the group — girls and women between the ages of 15 and 24 — in South Africa that is contracting HIV faster than anyone else, often because of relationships with men five to 10 years older than them.

Four out of every 10 new HIV infections in the country are among women in this age group, even though they make up only about 8% of the total population.