Spot, a US-based startup has combined memory science and artificial intelligence to tackle harassment and discrimination at work.

Founded by Dr. Julia Shaw, Daniel Nicole, and Dylan Marriott has launched an AI-powered recording tool that helps employees to report inappropriate behaviors at workplace. A spot is a web-based tool which is free and available to any employee who wishes to report an inappropriate behavior in the workplace. The employees can choose to record these actions and situations anonymously. 

The bot uses cognitive interviews to collect appropriate information from an employee who feels they have been harassed. Shaw was quoted in media arguing that in these sensitive situations, it’s important to know “what not to ask,” as subjective comments could lead the employee to overthink or misinterpret an incident. The basis for a solid cognitive interview is to ask practical and neutral questions.

In case the users have doubts about recording certain behaviors or actions, the bot goes through definitions of what frames harassment and demonstrates the process entailed in reporting such incidents. Users can choose to include as much detail as they want. Spot then produces certified and private PDF reports from the interview. Each entry is time-stamped and establishes evidence — something that could come in handy if the case escalates to a trial.

As reported in media, the company is not looking to monetize these reports, and for now, the startup is focusing on the user experience. However, in the future, the idea is to sell some AI-driven management system to human resource (HR) departments within companies.