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AI Health Coaches Will Probably Arrive on a Device

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AI Health Coaches Will Probably Arrive on a Device

It was strange to think about tracking your heartbeat or footprints a decade ago. Journalists covered the odd new trend at conferences, and those committed to the quest of quantified self-knowledge preached in TED Talks. A wearable device is now owned by over 40% of American households, according to statistics provided by Statista. Retirees frequently compare or brag about how many steps they took each day. The measurable self is in the ascendant.

As artificial intelligence continues to grow at an exponential rate, scientists and technologists are now searching for ways to go even farther. They want to create AI health coaches that can analyze health data and provide advice to users on maintaining optimal fitness.

The success of the measurable self

Numerous pieces of evidence point to the fact that wearables do, at minimum, provide some advantages. A 2022 review of scientific studies discovered that individuals assigned to wear activity trackers lost two pounds on average (about 1,800 extra steps per day) among over 160,000 participants in all the included studies.

According to Carol Maher, a population and digital health professor at the University of South Australia and a co-author of the review, wearables alter behavior in a variety of ways, including encouraging users to set goals, enabling them to monitor things that matter to them, and alerting them when they’re not on track to satisfy their objectives.

But according to Andrew Beam, an assistant professor studying medical artificial intelligence at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s Department of Epidemiology, these effects frequently wear off over time.

AI is needed to accurately detect the measures that matter to us from signal inputs, such as counting steps from an accelerometer worn on the wrist. However, this type of AI is unglamorous and uncool, according to Shwetak Patel, director of health technologies at Google and a professor of computer science and engineering at the University of Washington. “AI can stretch the capability of that sensor to do things that we may not have thought were possible.” he continues, but there is still a lot more it can already do. This includes functions like blood oxygen and fall detection that are already present in well-known wearable technology. Although usually not as accurate as devices used to diagnose diseases, some researchers are attempting to use the relatively basic health data provided by wearables to detect disease, including COVID-19.

AI has so far contributed minimally to the rise of the quantified self. In an effort to elevate artificial intelligence, researchers hope to leverage recent developments.

The upcoming health coaches powered by AI

In a recent paper that Patel co-authored, researchers fed wearable data into large language models—like OpenAI’s GPT series—and the models produced reasoning about the data that might help clinicians diagnose mental health conditions. For instance, the AI system would identify irregular sleep patterns in research participants and state that they “may be an indicator of various issues, including stress, anxiety, or other disorders.”

According to Patel, the next generation of AI models will be able to reason, which means they may be applied to individualized health coaching. It’s unclear, according to some researchers, whether large language models are capable of reasoning. Saying, “Your average heart rate is 70 beats per minute,” is one thing, but he goes on.

According to Patel, wearable data may also make it possible for AI “coaches” to comprehend users’ health at a far deeper level than a human coach could. A human coach could, for instance, ask you how you slept, but wearable technology could offer comprehensive, unbiased sleep data.

Maher has also contributed to the writing of a review of the literature on the impact of AI chatbots on lifestyle choices. The review revealed that, while the impact was not as great as that of wearables, chatbot health coaches can assist individuals in improving their diets, getting more sleep, and increasing their physical activity levels. The rather basic chatbots used in these studies were created years ago, long before OpenAI’s ChatGPT, for instance, and Maher anticipates that more advanced AI health coaches would be more successful. She does point out that there are still issues with large language models like ChatGPT that need to be resolved, such as the models’ propensity to invent facts.

Maher has also contributed to the writing of a review of the literature on the impact of AI chatbots on lifestyle choices. The review revealed that, while the impact was not as great as that of wearables, chatbot health coaches can assist individuals in improving their diets, getting more sleep, and increasing their physical activity levels. The rather basic chatbots used in these studies were created years ago, long before OpenAI’s ChatGPT, for instance, and Maher anticipates that more advanced AI health coaches would be more successful. She does point out that there are still issues with large language models like ChatGPT that need to be resolved, such as the models’ propensity to invent facts.

According to Beam, there are good reasons to be wary of chatbot health coaches. Initially, they experience the same gradual decline in efficacy as wearables. Second, when it comes to health, even human scientists with access to massive amounts of personal data still lack sufficient knowledge to provide tailored recommendations.

An artificial intelligence (AI) health coach could keep track of whether a particular action appears to be beneficial and modify its recommendations accordingly, even in the absence of sufficient evidence to provide specific recommendations to various individuals based on their health data. For instance, Sandeep Waraich, Google’s product management lead for wearable devices, says that heart rate data collected during a recommended workout could be used to guide future exercise recommendations.

Not just large tech companies are attempting to leverage wearable data to offer ongoing, individualised health coaching. App for health Based on movement and heart-rate data, Humanity claims to be able to determine a user’s “biological age” to within three years. A wrist-worn accelerometer was worn for a week by 100,000 participants in the U.K. Biobank, which provided the data used to develop Humanity’s algorithm. However, tracking the changes in biological age excites Humanity’s co-founder and chief strategy officer, Michael Geer, even more.

According to Beam, the issue with monitoring metrics such as Humanity’s “biological age” is that there is currently insufficient data connecting them to concrete health outcomes, such as a decline in all-cause mortality. According to him, there is an issue with AI’s application in healthcare in general. “In general, it’s best to proceed cautiously in this situation.

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Apple has revealed a revamped Mac Mini with an M4 chip

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A smaller but no less powerful Mac Mini was recently unveiled by Apple as part of the company’s week of Mac-focused announcements. It now has Apple’s most recent M4 silicon, enables ray tracing for the first time, and comes pre-installed with 16GB of RAM, which seems to be the new standard in the age of Apple Intelligence. While the more potent M4 Pro model starts at $1,399, the machine still starts at $599 with the standard M4 CPU. The Mac Mini is available for preorder right now and will be in stores on November 8th, just like the updated iMac that was revealed yesterday.

The new design will be the first thing you notice. The Mini has reportedly been significantly reduced in size, although it was already a comparatively small desktop computer. It is now incredibly small, with dimensions of five inches for both length and width. Apple claims that “an innovative thermal architecture, which guides air to different levels of the system, while all venting is done through the foot” and the M4’s efficiency are the reasons it keeps things cool.

Nevertheless, Apple has packed this device with a ton of input/output, including a 3.5mm audio jack and two USB-C connections on the front. Three USB-C/Thunderbolt ports, Ethernet, and HDMI are located around the back. Although the USB-A ports are outdated, it’s important to remember that the base M2 Mini only featured two USB-A connectors and two Thunderbolt 4 ports. You get a total of five ports with the M4. You get an additional Thunderbolt port but lose native USB-A.

Depending on the M4 processor you select, those Thunderbolt connectors will have varying speeds. While the M4 Pro offers the most recent Thunderbolt 5 throughput, the standard M4 processor comes with Thunderbolt 4.

With its 14 CPU and 20 GPU cores, the M4 Pro Mac Mini also offers better overall performance. The standard M4 can have up to 32GB of RAM, while the M4 Pro can have up to 64GB. The maximum storage capacity is an astounding 8TB. Therefore, even though the Mini is rather little, if you have the money, you can make it really powerful. For those who desire it, 10 gigabit Ethernet is still an optional upgrade.

Apple has a big week ahead of it. On Monday, the company released the M4 iMac and its first Apple Intelligence software features for iOS, iPadOS, and macOS. (More AI functionality will be available in December, such as ChatGPT integration and image production.) As Apple completes its new hardware, those updated MacBook Pros might make their appearance tomorrow. The business will undoubtedly highlight its newest fleet of Macs when it releases its quarterly profits on Thursday.

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Apple Intelligence may face competition from a new Qualcomm processor

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The new chip from Qualcomm (QCOM) may increase competition between Apple’s (AAPL) iOS and Android.

During its Snapdragon Summit on Monday, the firm unveiled the Snapdragon 8 Elite Mobile Platform, which includes a new, second-generation Oryon CPU that it claims is the “fastest mobile CPU in the world.” According to Qualcomm, multimodal generative artificial intelligence characteristics can be supported by the upcoming Snapdragon platform.

Qualcomm, which primarily creates chips for mobile devices running Android, claims that the new Oryon CPU is 44% more power efficient and 45% faster. As the iPhone manufacturer releases its Apple Intelligence capabilities, the new Snapdragon 8 platform may allow smartphone firms compete with Apple on the AI frontier. Additionally, Apple has an agreement with OpenAI, the company that makes ChatGPT, to incorporate ChatGPT-4o into the upcoming iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia.

According to a September Wall Street Journal (NWSA) story, Qualcomm is apparently interested in purchasing Intel (INTC) in a deal that could be valued up to $90 billion. According to Bloomberg, Apollo Global Management (APO), an alternative asset manager, had also proposed an equity-like investment in Intel with a potential value of up to $5 billion.

According to reports, which cited anonymous sources familiar with the situation, Qualcomm may postpone its decision to acquire Intel until after the U.S. presidential election next month. According to the persons who spoke with Bloomberg, Qualcomm is waiting to make a decision on the transaction because of the possible effects on antitrust laws and tensions with China after the election results.

According to a report from analysts at Bank of America Global Research (BAC), Qualcomm could expand, take the lead in the market for core processor units, or CPUs, for servers, PCs, and mobile devices, and get access to Intel’s extensive chip fabrication facilities by acquiring Intel. They went on to say that Qualcomm would become the world’s largest semiconductor company if its $33 billion in chip revenue were combined with Intel’s $52 billion.

The experts claimed that those advantages would be outweighed by the financial and regulatory obstacles posed by a possible transaction. They are dubious about a prospective takeover and think that Intel’s competitors may gain from the ambiguity surrounding the agreement.

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iPhone 16 Pro Users Report Screen Responsiveness Issues, Hope for Software Fix

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Many iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max users are experiencing significant touchscreen responsiveness problems. Complaints about lagging screens and unresponsive taps and swipes are particularly frustrating for customers who have invested $999 and up in these devices.

The good news is that initial assessments suggest the issue may be software-related rather than a hardware defect. This means that Apple likely won’t need to issue recalls or replacement units; instead, a simple software update could resolve the problem.

The root of the issue might lie in the iOS touch rejection algorithm, which is designed to prevent accidental touches. If this feature is overly sensitive, it could ignore intentional inputs, especially when users’ fingers are near the new Camera Control on the right side of the display. Some users have reported that their intended touches are being dismissed, particularly when their fingers are close to this area.

Additionally, the new, thinner bezels on the iPhone 16 Pro compared to the iPhone 15 Pro could contribute to the problem. With less protection against accidental touches, the device may misinterpret valid taps as mistakes, leading to ignored inputs.

This isn’t the first time Apple has faced challenges with new iPhone models. For instance, the iPhone 4 experienced “Antennagate,” where signal loss occurred depending on how the device was held, prompting Steve Jobs to famously suggest users hold their phones differently. Apple eventually provided free rubber bumpers to mitigate the issue.

To alleviate the touchscreen problem, using a case might help by covering parts of the display and reducing the chances of accidental touches triggering the rejection algorithm. The issue appears on devices running iOS 18 and the iOS 18.1 beta and does not occur when the phone is locked. Users may notice difficulties when swiping through home screens and apps.

Many are hopeful that an upcoming iOS 18 update will address these issues, restoring responsiveness to the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max displays.

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