A new “trigger warning” detector called Themis is being tested in classrooms and universities, according to a recent report from the Daily Mail.
What are the details?
Zinah Issa, the innovator behind Themis, recently debuted the device at Dubai Design Week and explained that she named the system after Themis — the Greek goddess of social order and justice.
The Daily Mail reported that some people are testing the device in classrooms and universities, as well as in more intimate, home-based situations.
According to the report, the device is fairly small — lamp-sized — and is intended to “moderate” unsavory or possibly offending discussion in classrooms and universities in order to “manifest political correctness” around conversation.
Issa told the Telegraph that such things as racial terms, offensive jokes, and remarks about body image trigger the device, which emits “extremely bothersome alarms” that last approximately two minutes.
“Through the use of speech recognition and sound sensors, we were able to program Themis to detect offensive terms and sentences — racial slurs, offensive jokes — through the microphone,” Issa explained.