SPECIAL REPORT: This AI-powered app may provide a solution for preventing suicide attempts
Editor’s note: This blog discusses suicide attempts and suicide among Veterans. If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts, please call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988 and press 1, text 838255, or visit the Veterans Crisis Line.
By Jay Elliot, Founder and CEO, Parrot Health
Washington, DC (December 11, 2025) – Every minute, three people in America attempt to commit suicide. In 2023, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) data revealed that an estimated 12.8 million adults seriously thought about suicide, 3.7 made a plan, and 1.5 million attempted suicide.
Each time this act carries with it a heavy emotional toll—and a financial one, often exceeding $8,000 for initial treatment and even more for long term mental health care.
It’s a crisis that’s overwhelming our healthcare system, and veterans remain the number one group affected.
In 2022, the suicide rate among male veterans was 44.3% higher than male nonveterans, and an alarming 92.4% higher for women veterans compared to nonveteran women, according to the 2024 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report (part 2, page 10).
Technology as a lifeline
The good news? Cutting-edge technology is poised to significantly lower those numbers by intervening at critical moments.
Intervention is key for those struggling with suicidal thoughts. Minutes, even seconds, can truly be ‘life or death.’ Waiting for an appointment, making a call that goes unanswered, or even emailing another person and not getting an immediate response can feel impossibly challenging for someone who is already on the brink.
AI can help solve these challenges. Evidence-based studies already show its potential.
Launching in 2026, A new app called Warrior provides immediate emotional AI support through its “Buddy Chat” feature. This secure, personality-driven chat is designed to be a compassionate listener with knowledge of psychology and psychiatry.
Buddy can also direct users to counseling and 988 or 911 resources as necessary and with quick, one-touch access.
Identifying the risks earlier
AI isn’t just about real-time support—it can also help identify risks before a crisis occurs. A 2022 study published in the National Library of Medicine found that AI also has the high potential for identifying patients at risk of suicide.
The researchers wrote, “suicide and suicidal behavior are a public health concern. Among people surviving a suicide attempt, about one-third come to the emergency department for help. Suicide risk assessment of these patients is a daily challenge in psychiatric practice.”
In addition, those who have attempted suicide are at an even higher risk for doing so again for the two weeks following discharge from the hospital.
The researchers note that “we need new approaches to identify and manage patients at high risk of suicide. The current suicide risk assessment methods are based on questioning and therefore subject to subjectivity. Their accuracy and predictive value are limited.”
Ultimately, they found that AI and machine learning are ways to improve risk detection. To do so, AI platforms, similar to Warrior, can more quickly identify patterns. AI was already successfully being applied to other medical disciplines (imagery, pathology, dermatology, etc.) when the study was completed in 2022.
We can’t have AI without better internet
None of this works without better internet access.
Access to high-speed internet is a lifeline especially for those living in rural areas. Telehealth, virtual counseling, and online support groups can also help bridge the gap for those struggling in rural areas. Yet, without reliable broadband, even these wide-spread resources remain out of reach.
That’s why programs like the $42 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program and the $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) are game changers.
Starting in 2026, BEAD will fund projects to connect more than four million locations nationwide, while RHTP will expand healthcare access in rural communities. Together, these initiatives offer hope for a future where everyone can access mental health care—no matter where they live.
Connectivity opens doors to jobs, education, and community engagement—all factors that reduce isolation for those struggling with suicidal thoughts.
AI isn’t just an emerging technology—it’s a tool that, combined with universal connectivity, can save lives every day.
About the author
Jay Elliot, Founder and CEO, Parrot Health
Jay Elliot serves as a member of the Connected Nation Board of Directors. He is also the Founder and CEO, Parrot Health, Inc. a medical mobile app company specializing in AI connectivity. Prior to Parrot Health he was the Founder and Chairman of Migo Software, Inc. a mobility software company. He is also a veteran, Vietnam Era, and is focused on helping reduce veteran suicide.
Mr. Elliot has more than 40-years of operations experience in the computer industry with such corporate giants as IBM, Intel, and Apple Computer. He served as the Senior Vice President of Apple Computer, responsible for all corporate operations plus overall corporate business planning, reporting directly to Steve Jobs, Chairman of the Board, CEO, and co-founder of Apple.
Mr. Elliot holds a B.S. in Mathematics from San Jose State University and a B.A. degree in Business from the University of California at Berkeley, California. He also was the author the worldwide bestselling books, The Steve Jobs Way and Leading Apple with Steve Jobs.
