I strongly feel AI can do wonders in healthcare and eliminate the disparity in access to quality healthcare.
Quality healthcare is a fundamental right.
I have been working for the past 3 years, and I dreamt of an evidence-based autism diagnosis that is accessible to everyone, irrespective of their socio-economic background.
Until a year ago, this was not possible at all. Even the thought of an evidence-based autism diagnosis accessible to everyone felt like a distant future.
But now, I can see my dream becoming a reality with Mind.new and with the advancement of AI.
I can clearly see the possibility of alternative forms of communication, and their interpretation, for individuals with autism or those who struggle with “normal” communication.
I have always felt very bad when we force someone to adapt to the “normal way”, i.e., speech/language.
Researchers are now using AI to study dolphin communication. Why can’t we build similar tools to understand people who don’t communicate through speech? Why can’t we do that for humans?
Some individuals with autism and neurological differences are just not designed for the regular way of communicating. They have to endure years of speech therapy, and there is still no guarantee that they will be able to communicate the regular way.
Think from their perspective: they have to go through hell and still have no means to communicate, because we were rigid about the “normal way of communication.”
Have we ever thought about experiencing excruciating pain and not being able to express it? Or trying to express it, but the person in front asks us to express it in a certain way? How frustrating is that? Try to experience a day without communicating through speech or signs.
Individuals with autism and other differences have to go through this every single day.
When did we become so unaccommodating toward our fellow human beings? Why don’t we support alternative ways of communication? Why are we so reluctant toward the idea?
Is it because of “Log kya kahenge?” or “Log pagal samjhenge”? Or is it something else which I am not able to see or understand?
Now we can correct this with the advancement of AI.
Communication and interpretation models are no longer a distant future. They are very much achievable, for an inclusive world where no one has to enforce a norm on anyone who struggles with it, for something as basic as communication!
But we can’t unsee the bigger evils and tradeoffs.
As much as I am pro-AI, I am anti-AI as well. The energy and water consumed are enormous, leading to adverse climate change, land contamination, and health effects on the people living in those areas. People in the DR Congo, South Sudan, and adjoining countries also pay a price for the sourcing of rare minerals used in technological advancement.
Then there is the misuse of AI: developing ballistic weapons, its use in the genocide in Gaza, deepfakes and illegal cyberattack factories, and the havoc created by releasing uncensored open-source and open-weight models. I am not against open source or open weights, nor am I saying control should be concentrated in a few big people or corporations, but this needs to be regulated.
All of this needs to be stopped and regulated. People with the right intentions and a plan need to be in leadership, or we need to compel leaders to put these as fundamental principles in their constitutions and make them act to prevent such evils.
In conclusion, AI advancement has countless benefits for humanity, and I clearly see it as something that can end the large disparities we see and experience across all walks of life. But none of this will matter if we don’t eliminate the current evils, which, in my view, are nothing but crimes against humanity.