Using artificial intelligence technology to improve wellbeing

As the importance of mental health and its impact on other areas of life is increasingly recognised, more people are looking for ways to manage their own wellbeing through self-help tools.

Technological advances such as artificial intelligence (AI) have vastly improved many aspects of day-to-day life. While it is yet to fully replicate or replace human connection, AI could play an important role in helping people to manage their emotional wellbeing.

Larimar is a new start-up founded by Newton-Khalidi Fund alumni, Abeer al Bashiti. It aims to integrate the human emotional experience into technology to improve the wellbeing of individuals and organisations.

This vision is being realised via Larimar’s WellShift app. When combined with wearable technology, such as a smart watch, WellShift can monitor physiological emotional indicators such as heartrate and temperature to assess an individual’s emotional state.

The app acts like a personal coach in your pocket. It uses the data it collects to provide individuals with tailored coping techniques and actions, like connecting to support groups, stress-busting exercises, and meditation.

By enabling people to easily monitor their emotional state in real-time, and take practical steps to improve it, the app can help people to build emotional resilience and improve wellbeing over time. Long-term, the development of this kind of technology could help to decrease the burden of mental health challenges on healthcare systems.

With around 1000 subscribers to the website, Abeer is now promoting Larimar’s technology in Silicon Valley’s entrepreneurial hubs, as part of her participation in TechWomen Program 2022.

Joining the UK’s Royal Academy of Engineering Leaders in Innovation Fellowships programme was a turning point in Abeer’s journey. The mentoring and coaching provided by the fellowship supported Abeer in commercialisation of the app, developing her entrepreneurial skills, networking with advisers and consultants, and gaining recognition from top class organisations in the UK, Egypt, Lebanon, and the US.

“I am passionate about emotions’ creation and their impact on our lives. I started the journey to dig deeper into myself and connect the scientific-based approaches with my coaching/mentoring experience to develop an uplifting tool.” - Abeer al Bashiti, founder of Larimar

Find out more about Larimar and WellShift, and download the app from the links below:

App on Google play

WellShift app website