Machine Learning Meets Mental Training -- A Proof of Concept Applied to Memory Sports

"Mens sana in corpore sano" (Juvenal, 100-127 AD) Mental training has long been part of human culture, appearing in several different forms ranging from meditation to particular games or cognitive exercises aimed at various purposes. The past decades, however, have seen it losing its cardinal role in the well-roundedness of an individual and becoming more of a side hustle, confined to particular hobbies or to specific techniques needed for mental-health purposes. By contrast, recent years have seen an exponential investment in and development of artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies, which seem to be successfully tackling increasingly difficult tasks and problems. This work, then, aims to combine the two fields together by presenting a practical implementation of machine learning to the particular form of mental training that is the art of memory, taken in its competitive version called "Memory Sports". Such a fusion, on the one hand, strives to raise awareness about both realms, while on the other it seeks to encourage research in this mixed field as a way to, ultimately, drive forward the development of this seemingly underestimated sport. After first introducing the topic of mental training and its particular branch of Memory Sports, in the first chapter, the machine learning involved in the project is explained in the second chapter. The third chapter, then, presents two practical implementations of machine learning in Memory Sports, the results of which are discussed in the final chapter, together with several potential directions for future research. Ultimately, as well as stimulating interest and inspiration regarding the two fields involved in this research and exploring their points of contact, the aim here is also to investigate potential developments of human-machine collaborations, which are likely to be the focus of the next advances in technology and society overall. Starting to think in this view can help better prepare for the abrupt changes that might come and even be part of them, so as to drive their aim and scope toward a more responsible, and thus better, outcome.