Suicide Detection Pilot Project May Fall Short on Results, Say Experts

College Avenue Secondary School students write their names on the sidewalk in Museum Square during a rally in Woodstock, Ont., after they and hundreds of their classmates walked out of school on June 7, 2016, to raise awareness of a suicide crisis that was gripping the small Ontario community. The Canadian Press/ Geoff Robins

The federal government announced last week it is tapping a company that specializes in artificial intelligence and social media monitoring to try and predict potential spikes in suicide, but prevention experts are skeptical that future tragedies can be forecast with success.

Advanced Symbolics Inc. is a market research firm that boasts it was one of the few in the world able to predict Brexit, Donald Trump winning the White House, and Justin Trudeau’s 2015 election win.