A visitor experiences the human body AI art healing system at the 2024 Light of the Internet Expo in Wuzhen, East China's Zhejiang Province, on November 19, 2024. Photo: VCG

Editor's Note: 

China's human rights stories are unfolding in a new era of comprehensive deepening reform and historic changes. It is a key component of China's poverty alleviation and whole-process people's democracy, a thorough reformation in judicial, medical insurance and other key sectors related to the national economy and people's livelihood, as well as a combination of numerous impressive and inspiring individual stories.

To be nurtured in youth, be educated, secure gainful employment, receive medical care when ill, be cared for in old age, have a place to live, and be supported when weak... these are the concrete embodiment of human rights, which explains that the greatest human right is the right to the happiness of the people. 

For a long time, politicians and media outlets in a handful of countries have remained hostile and prejudiced toward China, leading to a lack of understanding among foreign audiences when it comes to the concepts and achievements of China's human rights development. But what is revealed in the daily lives of the Chinese people speaks to the most basic truth: Rights to survival and development are fundamental human rights. 

The Global Times is launching a series of articles, telling the vivid stories about upholding human rights in the new era. We expect the series to become a window through which more foreign readers will understand how Chinese people recognize human rights and what efforts they have made to fight for and fully enjoy human rights in their daily lives.

After a long day at work, Ni Beiyue sits in front of his computer at home, eagerly immersing himself in the world of creating short videos with AI (artificial intelligence) tools. For nearly three hours, he brainstorms video content, generates mental images using AI, and makes the necessary revisions. It is late in the night when he finally uploads the finished video to an online platform, but Ni Beiyue feels quite happy and fulfilled.

It's hard to imagine that just a few months ago, the 45-year-old was a patient struggling with severe depression. With the help of AI tools, Ni Beiyue gradually channeled his heavy sadness into video creation, and eventually freed himself from hospitalization and medication - a miracle in the eyes of his doctor.

Mental health is a topic that the Chinese government and society have long cared about, and an important factor related to people's well-being. With the rapid development of AI technology in China, various AI companies, hospitals, regional governments, and social organizations are creatively applying AI to improve mental health and treat psychological disorders.

From using AI algorithms and large models for assessment, monitoring, and rehabilitation training, to employing AI-generated tech - which includes AI-generated image, music, and video creation - for supportive psychological healing, these initiatives have, to some extent, shown promising results, the Global Times learned. They showcase the warmth of human compassion shining through the rapid advancements in China's AI technology.

"I am grateful to have encountered AI during my darkest days," Ni Beiyue told the Global Times. "It saved me."

An outlet and bridge of emotion

In early 2023, Ni Beiyue was introduced to AI generative tools through a friend's recommendation, at a time when his mental health was poor.

Ni Beiyue works in the transportation system in Wenzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province. He recalled that due to immense work pressure and other factors, he was diagnosed with severe depression and spent six months in the hospital, taking medication with no improvement.

To help Ni Beiyue overcome his struggles with depression, his friend Ni Kaomeng, a seasoned generative AI enthusiast, shared some text-to-video tools with him. Ni Beiyue was quickly captivated.

"I graduated from an art school, and my passion for artistic creation has never faded, although my job is unrelated to that," said Ni Beiyue. He said that the first time he used these AI tools, he felt his previous state of emptiness and confusion dissipate. "I seemed to see a glimmer of hope, as I could finally pick up art again."

Despite having little knowledge of this new field, Ni Beiyue's background in art, and the low entry barrier of generative AI tools, allowed him to quickly master the creation of AI videos. His creative enthusiasm then surged. Over the next four months, Ni Beiyue created and uploaded more than 120 self-made short AI videos, many of which featured lighthearted themes like cute animals. These videos garnered him a total of 30 million views, along with unprecedented confidence and joy.

AI video creation serves as an excellent outlet for Ni Beiyue's negative emotions. He said that thanks to AI, now he has largely recovered, no longer needing medication for his depression. "Even my doctor was amazed," he added.

Ni Kaomeng was pleased with his friend's improvement in mental health. As the initiator of the China AIGC (AI-generated content) Industrial Alliance, a nationwide civil group of China's AIGC industry insiders, Ni Beiyue's experience has also inspired him to explore using AI tools to assist other groups facing psychological issues. He believes that AI tools can serve as an outlet for individuals with depression like Ni Beiyue to express their emotions, and can also act as a new bridge for patients with other mental health conditions - such as autism - to further connect with the world.

Ni Kaomeng said that in 2024, the alliance organized two public benefit activities related to children with autism, in collaboration with charitable groups. During these events, the artwork created by some autistic children was re-created and enriched using AI tools. The alliance also created an AI music video from their artwork, attracting tens of millions of views online.

"In my understanding, children with autism may have a lot to say internally, but find it difficult to express themselves through conventional means like language," Ni Kaomeng told the Global Times. "The low entry barrier of generative AI tools can help them present their inner thoughts and bridge the gap with the world." He said that the alliance members plan to hold more activities to support children with autism, including attempts to teach them how to create music using AI.

"If language limits some autistic children's expression, then we will use AI tools to break through that limitation," he noted.

In September, Ni Kaomeng's alliance held an online exhibition focused on supporting children with autism. In about two months, it gathered 537 pieces of themed drawings, many of which were also reinterpreted with AI tools. The artworks from these "children from the stars" became even more interesting and imaginative under the interpretation of AI.

"The combination of my child's drawings with AI has turned his dreams into reality," said the parent of a participating child with autism surnamed Ma. "He felt an immense joy."

More objective, quantifiable

There are over 10 million individuals with autism in China, with a conservative estimate of around 2 million children aged 0-14, according to the fifth report on the Development of Autism Education and Rehabilitation Industry in China released in April 2024. "Autism is the leading mental disability among children in our country," Feng Rui, director of the Chengdu Frontier Brain AI Innovation Center in Southwest China's Sichuan Province, told the media in April.

Diagnosing autism in young children has been challenging. Due to their age, very young children often struggle to express themselves fully and cannot undergo assessments effectively, making it difficult to distinguish autism from other developmental disorders, said Lü Zhuhai, a chief neurosurgeon at Nanjing Brain Hospital in East China's Jiangsu Province. Similarly, the diagnosis of adolescent mental health issues such as ADHD and depression may not be sufficient if it relies solely on the work of psychiatrists, as it lacks objective and quantifiable assessments, Lü added.

"In clinical practice, we often encounter parents of children with depression asking if their child can stop medication. However, the criteria for determining whether a child's depression has improved are usually quite vague, such as when a doctor asks the patient, 'Do you feel better?'" Lü told the Global Times. "We need more objective data to assess whether the situation has improved."

Interested in the potential of AI technology for diagnosing and rehabilitating mental health issues, Lü and his team have developed their own algorithm platform and database in recent years. They collected and analyzed various characteristic signals of mental disorders, such as neural networks, hormone levels, and brain waves, to assist in diagnosing children's mental health issues.

At Feng's innovation center, AI technology is also bringing about positive developments. For instance, a research team at the center has reportedly established an early diagnosis and identification system for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) based on AI technologies, such as deep learning, transfer learning, and manifold learning. This system fills a gap in the Chinese domestic field, "achieving a diagnostic accuracy rate of 91.67 percent," said Sichuan-based Fengmian News in April. 

Lü said that most of these AI devices and technologies have not yet been applied at the hospital level, but this is a promising start. "In the future, we will collaborate with special education schools, rehabilitation institutions, and research institutes, to ensure that AI technology benefits more people with mental health issues, especially children and teenagers," he told the Global Times.

Government support

In July, the Chinese government released the "Implementation Plan for the Care and Promotion of Autistic Children (2024-2028)," which outlines a five-year initiative to improve the care service mechanisms and systems for children with autism. Notably, the plan includes the integration of 29 medical rehabilitation projects for children with autism into the national health insurance system, aimed at alleviating the medical and rehabilitation burdens on involved families.

Ni Kaomeng expressed his enthusiasm for this plan, saying that it signifies a commitment from the government and society to allocate more resources to support children with autism. Ni Kaomeng, who is also the deputy head of the Wenzhou Federation of Social Science, shared that the federation regularly organizes activities to care for children with autism and other mental health issues.

On a broader scale, the State Council of China in 2022 issued a plan to improve policies on national health during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), which places greater emphasis on mental health. The plan stated the goal of slowing the rising trend of mental health disorders and effectively controlling severe mental illnesses and occupational diseases by 2025. 

With national support, AI has significant potential in the detection and intervention of mental health issues, said Ni Kaomeng. He envisioned several possible applications of AI technology in this field, such as "AI psychologists" based on large language models, and an "AI network manager" that can monitor the depressive and suicidal tendencies of underage users through their posts.

"In the future, the government will encourage AI companies and institutions to participate more actively in serving patients with mental health issues, through ways such as policy subsidies and service purchases," he said. "It will be a 'two-way effort.'"