AI: replacement or enhancement of human intelligence?
26-06-2024
The Digital Life 'Who Takes Cares?' research team travelled to Malmö, Sweden, from 10 to 14 June for the HHAI 2024 conference: 'Hybrid Human AI Systems for the Social Good'.
This conference was about the still developing field of 'Hybrid Intelligence'. This looks at how AI and humans work together and asks, for example, 'Should AI replace or enhance human intelligence?'
Hybrid Intelligent Technology
'Who Takes Care?' is the research project developing an Intelligent Care Environment to support care professionals. This project addresses the high workload of care professionals in dementia care. As the number of elderly people with dementia increases, so does the demand for care, while the shortage of care professionals continues to grow. The use of smart technological innovations like an Intelligent Care Environment can significantly reduce this workload.
Human Value
Stephanie Kramer, Michel Oey, Wen-Tseng Chang, and Somaya Ben Allouch are the researchers involved in this project from the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences.
In addition to attending interesting workshops, engaging in networking conversations, and exploring Swedish culture for five days, Wen-Tseng gave a presentation on the AI algorithm used in the ‘Who Takes Care?’ project.
Afterwards, she shared the following insights about her contribution:
‘After the presentation, I received many questions from the audience. Many people are interested in how we can detect eating activities at home and how we can build user profiles for people with dementia.
There were also various speakers at the conference who had similar health applications to our research, but aimed at different target groups (for example, people with diabetes). We had the opportunity in Malmö to exchange ideas about other ways to improve our system.
Overall, I think that by participating in this conference, we have sparked public interest in building hybrid intelligent systems, especially for very vulnerable groups such as people with dementia. If more and more people become aware of the importance of building systems in healthcare, we will have a better chance to test the prototype and continue this research in the future.’
The corresponding publication on 'Human-Centered AI for Dementia Care: Using Reinforcement Learning for Personalized Interventions Support in Eating and Drinking Scenarios' is available for download online.