How Using AI Can Increase Cognitive Work and Support Better Brain Health
Image credits: Microsoft365 via Unsplash.
There’s plenty of doom and gloom in the headlines these days about AI and automation. But could it be that robots and algorithms might actually improve human health?
That provocative question jumped into my mind as I read news coverage about a scientific article that reported an association between routine tasks at work and dementia risk.
Occupational Complexity and Brain Health
This paper is part of the HUNT4 70+ Study, which dug into health and occupational data from more than 7,000 Norwegians, spanning work (from their 30s) to retirement (in their 60s).
The headline here is that the study participants had a statistically higher risk of mild cognitive impairment and dementia if they worked in jobs that were less cognitively demanding (versus participants who worked more cognitively stimulating jobs, and after adjusting for age, sex, and education). More research will be needed to identify specific occupational cognitive demands that contribute to this association.
But these data align with many other studies—and stories—showing that complex, dynamic, and meaningful work can support healthy aging.
Opportunity for AI-Driven Workplaces
Image credits: Miriam Doerr Martin Frommherz via Unsplash.
Consider just one use case: healthcare. Health workers today are reporting high levels of burnout and mental-health challenges. While there are many factors at play, health workers around the world have told me that they spend a great deal of their time on tasks that do not align with why they chose their careers. These people came to healthcare because they wanted to help people—not to fill out forms, document meetings, or trudge through all the other routine tasks that increasingly eat up their time.
Many of these tasks are indeed important to safe and effective healthcare. That’s why many early advances in AI and automation (including robotics) are targeting these routine tasks. Examples include transcribing conversations with patients into medical records and drafting letters to insurers and patients. Robot nurses and “socially assistive” robots may also free up time for health workers to focus on the human elements of their jobs.
Better Jobs for a Better Life?
Image credits: Kornel Mahl via Unsplash
Interestingly, an earlier article from the HUNT4 70+ Study reported that consistently working a job with high physical activity was linked to an increased risk of dementia. This report appeared to contradict another study that concluded that people who engaged in sedentary behaviors (like sitting) for 10+ hours each day had a higher dementia risk.
But perhaps the missing link is the low cognitive burden of both sedentary behavior and repetitive tasks. Which leads us back to our main question.
Could robots and algorithms help human health?
💡 The answer may be yes—but not if we’re using tech to replace people. Instead, we should use automation and AI to relieve workers of routine, repetitive tasks so that they can focus on things that (ro)bots can’t do. Things like making meaningful connections with people. Adding value in new or untraditional ways. Exploring new ideas (that don’t have a training set).
Critically, we’ll need to talk to people across industries to find out which parts of their job get them out of bed in the morning—and which should be put to bed. We’ll need to re-evaluate what it means to “be a nurse” or “be in manufacturing” or “be a farmer”. This is a big challenge, but it’s an even bigger opportunity to harness technology and people to build a better future.
Get the Conversation Going
I hope you’ll talk about this big question—how AI and automation could support physical and mental wellbeing—in the office and around the dinner table.
Tech is only part of the potential solution to healthy aging. But adding AI and robotics to effective healthcare and systems that incentivize good choices in diet, exercise, stress, and more may tip the scales toward a future of longer, healthier, and productive lives for many more people around the world.
About Tiffany
Dr. Tiffany Vora speaks, writes, and advises on how to harness technology to build the best possible future(s). She is an expert in biotech, health, & innovation.
For a full list of topics and ways to collaborate, visit Tiffany’s Work Together webpage.
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