AI to the rescue of families with special needs kids

Dr Vilasini delivering a speech during the launch at QIU in Ipoh.

QUEST International University Perak (QIU) and cognitive analytics company MyFinB have created an Articial Intelligence (AI) platform to assist families with special needs children plan for their financial needs.

Called “Better Life, Optimisation of Money” or Bloom, the platform assists parents to plan for their children’s financial needs including key expenditure categories such as food, transport, education and housing.

The platform can analyse the family’s current and future requirements, monitor the children’s current financial demands and predict future expenditure and income levels.

Bloom will prescribe strategies on how parents can achieve the financial goals with suggested steps across the short, medium and long-term plans.

The platform also provides access to curated and customised information pertaining to autism such as help centres, counsellors, financial advisors, psychologists and educators.

MyFinB produces the AI algorithms and automated narrative engine for the platform’s system while QIU provides its methodology and expertise in financial planning for special needs children.

QIU’s Faculty of Science and Technology dean Professor Dr Vilasini Pillai said parents or caregivers of special needs children often faced challenges in setting aside adequate finances for themselves and their children.

“Bloom will provide them with short, medium and long-term strategic plans that ensure their financial goals are achieved and their children will be taken care of until they can fend for themselves.

“This can also help policy makers like the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry in devising and implementing programmes in accordance with the government’s aspirations as per the 11th Malaysia Plan 2016-2020 and the National Strategy for Financial Literacy 2019-2023, ” she said during the soft launch of the platform at QIU in Ipoh.