Moral Enhancement of Robots

Sometimes the line between reality and the fiction depicted in superhero comic books is blurred.  This article on creating empathetic robots to protect us from sociopathic robots is a great example of that.  The abstract:

Given the accelerating powers of artificial intelligence (AI), we must equip artificial agents and robots with empathy to prevent harmful and irreversible decisions. Current approaches to artificial empathy focus on its cognitive or performative processes, overlooking affect, and thus promote sociopathic behaviors. Artificially vulnerable, fully empathic AI is necessary to prevent sociopathic robots and protect human welfare.

Cheers, 

Colin 

Creativity and Video Games

 This interesting new study explores creativity, optimism and playing video games.  The abstract:

Video games play a big part in many individuals’ lives, children and adults alike. A large body of research has investigated both the potential negative and positive effects of video games. This paper examines whether playing video games is positively related to creativity, with a focus on adults' creativity in the workplace. Furthermore, it was posited that this link could be explained through the mediating effect of Psychological Capital (PsyCap). Using a cross-sectional design (N = 370), the results show a full mediation of the link between the frequency of playing video games and creativity, through optimism: playing video games is positively associated with higher optimism, which in turn is associated with more creativity in the workplace.

Cheers, 

Colin 

The War Against Disease: Obesity Edition

10 years ago the American Medical Association classified obesity as a disease.  This interesting piece surveys the progress and challenges of the past decade.  Many important lessons here for the field of geroscience.  A sample from the article:

Obesity is a significant public health issue in the United States. More than 42% of American adults and 20% of American youth have obesity (1). Another 30% of adults and 16% of youth are classified as overweight, placing them at increased risk of developing obesity in the future (2, 3). The impact of obesity is notable. Obesity is associated with increased risk for numerous diseases and premature morbidity, poorer health-related quality of life, and significant economic costs (1, 4, 5). The prevalence and costs of obesity are only expected to grow in the coming years. For example, it is predicted that over one half of the world’s population will have overweight or obesity by 2035 and the economic impact will exceed $4 trillion (1).

....While we have arguably entered a new phase of possibilities for pharmacotherapeutic treatment of obesity, anti-obesity medication use remains low (1%–3%) (13). Multiple drivers contribute to low usage. Cost is a significant barrier, particularly for the newer anti-obesity medications, which have an exorbitantly high out-of-pocket cost in the United States of over $1,000/month. While a few insurers cover these newer medications (14)—a development that seems unlikely to have occurred had the AMA and other similar organizations not recognized obesity as a disease—the vast majority do not, meaning interested patients are left no choice but to pay out-of-pocket, try lower cost alternatives, or defer treatment. Additionally, as is the case with medications for most chronic conditions, medication use needs to be sustained to provide continued benefit. Thus, the long-term financial costs of staying on the newest medications is prohibitive for many.

Cheers, 

Colin

Science is Hard (breast cancer edition)

Two studies/stories caught my attention this week with respect to breast cancer.  The first is a study in the Annals of Internal Medicine which found that the risk of an overdiagnosis of breast cancer - meaning the breast cancer was not likely to cause any symptoms in the remaining years of life given that some other ailment would likely cause mortality before the breast cancer progressed to a symptomatic stage- increased significantly with age (e.g. for women age 70-74 it was a 31% overdiagnosis, for agef overdiagnosis increased significantly with age. They report that among women aged 70 to 74, up to an estimated 31 percent of breast cancer found among screened women was over diagnosed, over age 85 the rate of overdiagnosis rises to 54%. 

The other story I came across was this Nature news piece  on the unintended consequences of the FDAs accelerated-approval process for life saving drugs.  The story focuses on a breast cancer drug that was initially approved for the accelerated approval in the US but, when subsequent studies demonstrated it was not effective, that accelerated approval was retracted. However, the drug is still offered as treatment in India because drug approval is regulated by local health authorities.  A sample from the story:

Accelerated approvals in the United States are granted on the basis of clinical studies that suggest a health benefit without necessarily demonstrating it fully. The process prioritizes speed over certainty, and it requires companies to complete follow-up studies to confirm a treatment’s benefits. This is a “very reasonable compromise”, says bioethicist Holly Fernandez Lynch at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, “so long as we can get the confirmatory evidence quickly and reliably”.

Cheers, 

Colin

Frankl on Idealists

 

An excellent 3 mins lecture by Viktor Frankl on why we should be idealists.

Cheers, 

Colin