A teenager’s family experience inspired an unusual technology project: instead of telling adults what a child feels, help them ask better questions.
A family experience becomes an idea
Shashank Madala, a 17-year-old high-school student from Robbinsville, New Jersey, began exploring artificial intelligence after noticing that family members sometimes struggled to interpret his autistic cousin’s reactions. He taught himself additional computing skills and started developing an app called Kora.
His goal was not to diagnose a child or claim an algorithm could know another person’s emotions. Kora is designed to offer caregivers possible interpretations of nonverbal cues, encouraging them to pay attention to the child and the situation rather than accept one confident label.
Technology that admits uncertainty
Human emotions are complex, and expressions do not have one universally reliable meaning. An app can be wrong, especially when communication styles vary. By presenting possibilities rather than a definitive verdict, Madala is trying to make the technology a prompt for observation and conversation.
According to November 2026 reporting, Kora is free and has reached more than 700 users in 12 countries, including through autism therapy-center connections. Those are reported adoption figures, not an independent clinical effectiveness assessment. The tool should not be presented as a medical device, diagnostic test or replacement for professional support.
Recognition—and the larger lesson
Madala’s work won recognition in the Congressional App Challenge. But the more interesting story is his process: identify a problem close to home, build something, recognize the shortcomings of the first version, and improve it by acknowledging uncertainty.
For anyone thinking about AI for social good, his example offers an important principle: technology should support people’s judgment, not automatically replace it.
Sources: New Jersey Monthly’s November 4, 2026 interview and Good News Network’s November 9 report.
Any featured illustration is stock photography and does not portray Shashank or the Kora app.
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