When Data Speaks: AI and Mental Health in Service of Displaced Communities
Dr. Raneem Knaj, explores how algorithms can hear what words cannot express — from voice signal analysis for early mood disorder detection, to building AI tools that serve the most vulnerable communities, including those forcibly displaced. Because courage is not only in leaving — it is in rebuilding, through science, data, and humanity.
Refugee Week: Events
Date: Monday 15 June 2026
Time: 14:00 - 15:30
Venue: The ARC237B
Category: Public lectures, Sanctuary
Speaker: Dr Raneem Knaj
In this talk, Dr. Raneem Knaj, AI researcher and CARA Fellow at the University of Glasgow, presents her work on speech-based computational detection of depression in multilingual populations. Drawing on findings from her studies, she explores how acoustic markers associated with low mood remain stable even when speakers switch between their mother tongue and a second language.
The talk examines the implications of these findings for mental health screening in displaced and underserved communities, where linguistic diversity and limited access to care often challenge conventional clinical approaches. It also reflects on the broader ethical question of how AI systems can be designed responsibly for vulnerable populations.