All the talk of Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be confusing for us older folks. We grew up with movies where machines took over the world and it’s a scary thought. Luckily in movies, they can write a happy outcome. In real-life how can we be so sure?
Despite all the talk, good and bad, there are some positive things about using the “brains” of AI. One of the more significant are the benefits for medicine.
Several medicines have been reclassified to offer benefits they were not originally intended for. One of the more well-known examples are the drugs that were designed to help diabetes have now become a means to lose weight. America has become an overweight nation, so this is a move in the right direction. Like everything, there are abuses, but we can’t control those.
AI is now capable of using mathematical formulas to compare thousands of diseases with over 4,000 FDA approved drugs. This has opened amazing possibilities without reinventing the wheel. Finding drugs out there that were designed for one purpose and discover they can have lifesaving promises for other diseases is amazing.
It’s like opening your medicine cabinet and learning one of your prescriptions could help with some other medical condition you might be dealing with.
There are over 10,000 diseases. That’s a lot of bad stuff, but if AI has the power to analyze all of them and find a possible match with an existing drug, that’s pretty exciting. Arthritis drugs have come to be a cure for rare diseases where you would never make the connection. Such as diseases that attack vital organs. Who knew something you use to help move your fingers can stop inflammatory proteins from attacking you.
By now those of you who have been following me on Noozhawk are aware I have been a volunteer at the Friendship for several years. During that time, I’ve become aware of how many people are inflicted with Alzheimer’s and various forms of dementia.
There’s still no cure for Alzheimer’s and it’s been difficult to pinpoint the cause. However, AI is opening a bunch of new doors. AI is being used to identify some 156 different risk genes and then match those with existing drugs that may offer some hope of treatment.
I don’t think this would be possible using our existing methods sifting through thousands of medications to match with thousands of different diseases.
One of the more prominent names in the public eye today with a form of dementia is Bruce Willis. His wife has written a book about his and her ordeals. Sadly sometimes it takes someone more famous for the public to connect with to bring more awareness to ugly diseases.
Sadly, it’s too late for Bruce Willis, but hopefully AI can be properly managed and controlled, and save the lives of millions of others.
My father always said the one certain thing in life is change. We are always changing and adapting. Maybe AI could become the medical tool that allows humans to live to 150. Though I’m not sure I would really want to live that long.