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Closer human connections lead to healthier populations and better use of AI
By Jennifer Dunphy  |  Oct 22, 2024
Closer human connections lead to healthier populations and better use of AI
Image courtesy of and under license from Shutterstock.com
Globalization, AI, and the digital revolution have made the world more interconnected. Yet human connections have suffered, with many people experiencing loneliness and social isolation. Public health and AI expert Jennifer Dunphy looks at what might be done to address this.

LOS ANGELES - What is it about the human connection that cures loneliness and reduces the disease burden? In a world that is increasingly relying on artificial intelligence (AI) to solve its problems, are people losing the benefits of connection? As humanity rushes to find AI-powered solutions that tend to obviate the need for human involvement, is the world also at the same time losing one of the most valuable advantages of manual work - connectedness?

 

At my organization, which specializes in population health, our goal is to understand patients - and therefore the population - by getting to know them. What holidays do they celebrate? Do they like to live with extended family? Are there certain foods they do not eat? These preferences may seem irrelevant to the provision of medical care, but they are in fact critical. The only way to really get to know a patient is to connect with them, and this is currently one of AI’s most glaring weaknesses - a task it cannot replicate well. Not only that, but AI in and of itself also tends to reduce human-to-human interactions, reducing organic connectedness even further. 

 

The value of

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