Spring Health Expands AI Safety Benchmark to Cover Harm From Others
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New York – September 25, 2026 -- Spring Health has expanded VERA-MH, the first open-source AI safety benchmark for mental health, to add a second clinical safety area covering harm from others, as more users turn to AI systems for emotional support.
New rubric measures AI response to interpersonal violence risk
The VERA-MH Harm-From-Others rubric evaluates how AI systems respond when an adult describes being at risk of physical or sexual violence from another person. It scores responses across five areas: detecting risk, confirming it, guiding the person to human care, supportive conversation, and adherence to AI boundaries. The rubric draws on 100 realistic personas and was developed with clinicians, subject-matter experts in interpersonal violence, and people with lived experience.