Indian American teen becomes Time magazine’s first-ever “Kid of the Year”

New Delhi(New York), 4/12: Gitanjali Rao, a 15-year old Indian American teen has been named by the famous Time Magazine as its first-ever “Kid of the Year”, 2020. Rao adorned the magazine’s first-ever “Kid of the Year” cover, dressed in a labcoat with several medals hanging from lanyards. Rao is a “scientist and inventor” and has been credited with developing the “Kindly”, an app and Google Chrome extension, which uses machine learning technology to detect early traces of cyberbullying.

She was interviewed by actress Angelina Jolie, where the actess went all gaga, praising the teen prodigy. “Even over video chat, her brilliant mind and generous spirit shone through, along with her inspiring message to other young people: don’t try to fix every problem, just focus on one that excites you.” Jolie said, about the videocall. “The world belongs to those who shape it. And however uncertain that world may feel at a given moment, the reassuring reality seems to be that each new generation produces more of what these kids-five Kid of the Year finalists selected from a field of more than 5,000 Americans, ages 8 to 16-have already achieved: positive impact, in all sizes,” TIME wrote towards the beginning of the interview.

Speaking about her latest innovation, the “Kindly” app and Google Chrome extension, Rao explained to Jolie, over a Zoom call, “I started to hard-code in some words that could be considered bullying, and then my engine took those words and identified words that are similar. You type in a word or phrase, and it’s able to pick it up if it’s bullying, and it gives you the option to edit it or send it the way it is.”

“The goal is not to punish. As a teenager, I know teenagers tend to lash out sometimes. Instead, it gives you the chance to rethink what you’re saying so that you know what to do next time around.”