Can AI Help Forestall the Global Dementia Epidemic?

With artificial intelligence steadily infiltrating nearly every aspect of modern life, there is a healthy amount of skepticism about the outsize role of machine learning in life in the twenty-first century. For many, concerns over the implications of technologies such as facial recognition, online tracking of individual preferences, and robots assuming roles formerly filled by humans raise understandable alarm. Fortunately, the medical sector provides a powerful example of artificial intelligence being leveraged to support rather than compete with human intelligence. Generally speaking, our brain health remains somewhat of a black box until symptoms of cognitive decline present and our brain activity is finally monitored through advanced medical testing. While most of us visit our primary care physician at least once a year for a comprehensive review of our physical health, no such proactive mechanism currently exists with regard to our cognitive health.