Let's talk about periods: AI to break menstrual taboos and educate younger generations

On March 8th, we celebrate International Women's Rights Day; but more than one day, March is the perfect opportunity to demystify topics that are still too often taboo, such as menstruation.

This is precisely the mission that the association has given itself. Elementary rules with its platform Let's talk about periods break the silence and make society aware of them!

But how can artificial intelligence and digital technology transform the public's vision of rules?

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Breaking an age-old taboo through digital technology

In 2022, almost 60% of respondents say they have never received formal instruction about menstruation. Consequences: ignorance, shame and the persistence of taboos that affect the lives of millions of people.

In response, the Elementary Rules non-profit is launching Let's talk about periods, a platform dedicated to menstrual education with a chatbot developed in partnership with the NGO Bayes Impact, expert in digital projects with social utility.

This platform aims to change the opinion on periods with digital tools adapted to its various targets:

- Young people (8-14 years old) benefit from a fun interface that offers answers to frequently asked questions already listed on the site. To go further, the intelligent chatbot Timi offers personalized support: it answers all their questions, even the most specific ones, by speaking in words adapted to their age and their understanding.

- Parents and educational relays, with dedicated areas offering turnkey educational content.

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Timi the generative AI that speaks without taboos

At the heart of the Let's Talk Periods platform, Timi asserts itself as an ally in answering young people's questions about periods, puberty and much more. Developed based on the expertise of the association, Timi is distinguished by:
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1. Appropriate answers: AI contextualizes questions to offer clear and inclusive answers. If a response is not available, it directs users to other resources.

2. A pedagogical approach: the chatbot has been set up so that its answers are simple and accessible from an early age. To do this, Timi explains and popularizes words that might not be clear to young people aged 8 to 14. The chatbot goes even further by offering additional questions to continue the exchanges.

3. A measurable impact: after a month of launch, more than 5,500 messages have been exchanged. Well done Timi!
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The results speak for themselves: after only one month of existence, the Let's Talk Periods platform attracted more than 11,950 unique browsers, with enthusiastic feedback from users and educational relays. As a bonus? A positive indirect impact on the development of the association by attracting the attention of the media and potential funders.
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With Timi, Elementary rules broadens the scope of its awareness. The association infuses a common culture around periods through workshops in schools and events for the general public. In addition to these one-off interventions, the Let's Talk Periods platform offers permanent support that is easily accessible online.

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7 months of work and testing to get Timi well adjusted

Setting up Timi was no easy task. 7 months of work were necessary to bring this chatbot to life.

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Timi's education: a real challenge

Timi had to go through a tough workout. The team first imparted knowledge to him by giving him the right documents as sources of information. Then, she made sure to channel her answers to avoid anything off-topic and adopt a clear and accessible tone for the youngest. Finally, Timi has been set up to react kindly to delicate situations, such as testimonies of sexual violence, and to refer users to specialized associations.

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Behind this project, a great team

In all, the development of Timi involved a developer and an AI expert from the organization. Bayes Impact, two members of Elementary Rules, including Bastien Germain for coordinating the project, and another person to write the practice questions. A dozen members of the association also contributed to the various test phases, alongside several young people.

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The technology behind Timi

Close collaboration with experts was required to design this technology and refine the prompts (i.e. chatbot responses). Concretely, Timi relies on Gemini, Google's generative AI. The development team set up a Directus that allows Elementary Rules to update Timi's answers and the question database. Directus is a back office that generates an API - think of it as an all-you-can-eat buffet where the chatbot can come and get what it needs. The Timi interface, on the other hand, was developed in React and dialogue directly with the back-office API.

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How much does it cost to give Timi a voice?

A budget of €5,000 has been allocated to develop the chatbot. The operating cost of Timi varies according to the requests: a request generally costs around 5 cents, or €50 for 1,000 messages exchanged with the chatbot.

The result of this investment? A high level of satisfaction with 99% of compliant responses!

Today, while Timi is up and running, challenges remain. Checking the quality of content and ensuring its relevance require continuous and demanding work, but essential. Timi's example thus highlights the complexity of integrating AI with sensitive educational issues.

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An associative revolution thanks to digital technology: multiply your impact

The example of Let's Talk Periods shows that digital technology and artificial intelligence represent great opportunities to develop your social impact. For SSE organizations, these tools are not limited to modernizing practices: they make it possible to reach a large audience, to adapt to the specific needs of each and to multiply their impact like never before.

Do not hesitate to visit Let's talk about periods and to test Timi, but also to follow our Anti-fog newsletter to discover future AI use cases by associations for the general interest.

If you want to discover other associative initiatives on the use of AI and learn more about the IA for Good program, take a look at our dedicated site.

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