AI Nex (the platform for bots)

2020: Beginning of implementation

In January, 2020 the companies began to implement bots which reveal signs of sexual harassments and persecution of employees in corporate networks. Bots received the name#MeTooBots in honor of social movement in protection of employees who were exposed to workplace violence.

The companies began to implement bots which look for signs of sexual harassments and persecution of employees

The American company NexLP acted as the developer of bots, using own platform of AI Nex. The provided algorithm analyzes correspondence between colleagues and clients regarding sexual harassments or persecution. Besides, the bot checks e-mail and corporate chats. The artificial intelligence tries to discover the key word or other markers indicating violation of personal borders and then sends suspicious messages to lawyers or specialists from personnel department. By the beginning of 2020 the platform of AI Nex is used by more than 50 corporate clients, including law firms in London.

NexLB not the only company which is engaged in development of similar algorithms. It is a compulsory measure - according to The Guardian, only in Britain about 30% of lawyers are regularly exposed to sexual harassments in business correspondence.

What markers are considered as disturbing, NexLB keeps in secret, however developers were recognized that to train a bot it appeared not so easily — often harassments sound is veiled, but also, can be shown not only in the text, but also on a photo. Unfortunately, the bot can react only to separate triggers, disregarding wider cultural context and the more so unique interpersonal dynamics. Thus, bots risk to miss real opportunity of harassments or to be too sensitive. Use of bots can indirectly create the atmosphere of mistrust and also frighten off criminals who will try to bypass new restrictions. Nevertheless, developers of algorithms consider#MeTooBots at a slow pace in a right direction.^[1]

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