Recently my wife and I returned from a lengthy road trip to Georgia. We drove approximately 3,000 miles. I was pleasantly surprised that we didn’t run into any major construction zones and even on our return route, just before July 4th, the traffic was not overwhelming.
It wasn’t because we were lucky enough to pick the best route, it was because we let Artificial Intelligence (AI) pick the best route for us. During the entire trip we allowed Waze, a GPS application, tell us where to go and what was the best route to take. Waze collects data from its users in real time and then looks at the route it set for you. Should it determine whether the route originally chosen is congested or has construction, it will modify its choice and let you know.
For many of us the use of GPS applications, such a Waze or Google Maps, has become commonplace. But the fact that Waze planned and “thought” about the best route is the next move forward.
We’ve used some form of AI our whole lives. The first TV you had that had a remote control was probably your first introduction. Push a button and the channel changed all by itself. Magic!
To my youngest grandchildren AI and technology isn’t frightening at all. To me it’s way beyond my capabilities. But considering the future for us seniors, in the not very distant future AI is posed to become a major part in our everyday lives. Like it or not.
In 10 years from now it is predicted that there will be more people over the age of 65 than under 18. In addition, it’s estimated that in the US we will need an additional 1.2 million caretakers to support people living with dementia.
Where will these caretakers come from? According to Min Zhang, PhD, a professor and AI researcher, at Carnegie Mellon University, she and her colleagues are developing AI Robots that are “intelligent, interactive, personalized, and ethically driven.”
Their main thrust is to develop AI “Bots” that will allow seniors to stay in their homes. Bots that will support seniors with various tasks, “including cooking, managing finances, medication and exercises, coordinating schedules as well.”
We’re talking about versions of Siri and Google Home on steroids.
And don’t think it’s not here already. I was sitting on a friend’s deck enjoying a glass of wine. For the fun of it I went to Google Gemini, turned on the video, pointed my camara at the glass of wine and asked it to tell me what it saw. The response was that it saw I was “enjoying” a glass of red wine while overlooking a beautiful forest vista.
Not that it was a just glass of wine, but it assumed I was enjoying it. If you have Gemini downloaded go ahead and open the app. Turn on the video and point at a book. Ask it to tell you about the book. Then be prepared to be blown away.
Next in line will be the use of bots to help us deal with the activities of daily living. As we face the inevitability of diminished capacity, and the responsibility of our wellbeing transfers to our caregivers, the use of bots to perform a multitude of tasks while interacting with our caregivers, acting as our advocate and taking on many tasks we are no longer both mentally and physically capable of doing will become commonplace.
One of my issues is remembering names of people. I kiddingly said to a friend with the same issue that we need a pair of glasses the had facial recognition. Lo and behold, two Harvard students, have taken a pair of Ray Bans and tied them to an AI facial recognition platform and now they never will forget a name because their glasses whisper names in their ear. I’d like a pair sent to me ASAP.
For me the future is coming far too quickly as I realize that I have so little of it left. But I also recognize that it will be our generation that might benefit from the future the most as we age along with our own personal bot. Future is here now — embrace it.
I apologize for the date mix-up for the last Medicare 101 seminar. I promise he next one is on Thursday, July 24th @ 6 p.m. at main library. Call to reserve your space.