Artificial Intelligence In Our Pockets
In recent months, we have witnessed an exponential development of artificial intelligence (AI). This technology, which occasionally made headlines with some new application in various technological niches, exploded when the possibility of each of us using online AI assistants was recently made available.
The largest tech companies are currently focusing a significant portion of their resources in this area, particularly in the applications it may have in healthcare.
Apart from the obvious potential for this to become an excellent resource in the daily routines of medical professionals, serving as an auxiliary mechanism for diagnosing, whether through supporting clinical reasoning or aiding in the interpretation of medical imaging, for example; artificial intelligence will gradually become a part of all medical technology.
In this field, one of the types of technology currently experiencing significant growth is certainly the wearable technology industry.
Gone are the days when we could only measure simple parameters like weight or blood pressure outside a clinical/hospital setting, using simple devices that could be purchased by ordinary citizens, but only served the purpose of measuring something specific.
Currently, each one of us carries a powerful computer in their pocket or on their wrist, which has allowed the industry to adapt these gadgets for continuous and simultaneous monitoring of numerous vital parameters.
It's true that these types of devices are not new; however, only now have some of them shown results closer to what certified medical devices can achieve.
With this increased accuracy, a vast field for exploration opens up because these instruments will no longer serve only for personal entertainment in assessing parameters like sleep, heart rate variability, or exercise strain; they will also provide quality information to the healthcare professionals who accompany us.
Some of the mentioned gadgets already have integrated AI systems. Although still in an early stage, they can, through access to the vast amount of data monitored by the devices, integrate them and answer the questions that each of us may have.
We can ask more general questions, such as trying to determine the daily average protein intake we should have, as well as more specific queries, for example, about the current day, in order to determine the ideal composition of our dinner, taking into account our goals for the following day.
The possibilities are vast.
It's important to remember, however, that in some cases, the answers may be influenced by specific opinions, such as those of scientists working closely with wearable brands, or that the systems may not always formulate responses from the best sources.
Thus, the information provided by artificial intelligence should not be understood as an absolute truth but as a suggestion that can be confirmed through individual research from unbiased and scientifically robust sources.
The assimilation of AI into many aspects of our lives seems to me to be an inevitability at the moment. In the specific matter we are addressing, as long as individual privacy is respected, there will be numerous advantages in having a virtual assistant in our pocket or on our wrist, capable of providing some assistance in making choices about various aspects of our health. However, it is essential that we do not become a completely passive society in relation to these points but rather maintain our critical capacity so that all decisions made by us, particularly concerning our health, can be adequately informed, with that information now reinforced by AI.
