The Importance of Names

The idea for this post came to me several nights ago. The isolation and self quarantining I have experienced due to COVID 19 led me to the idea and these thoughts. 

While I have kept up with most friends and family members over the phone and during ZOOM and FACETIME, there is something lacking in the "over the wire" digital experience when compared to an in-person experience with the possibility of a hug, a better view of facial and body cues and postures, and just the presence of another person.

I first became aware of the importance of a name from Ken, a friend, adopted family member, father or my two God Children, and associate architect who worked with Gregory. Often we talk to a person or respond verbally but fail to mention that person's name. Ken, always added my name when asking or telling me something. In place of "Thank you for getting that for me." he would say "Thank you, Michael, for getting that for me."  In-person and on the phone, Ken would always acknowledge my existence by using my name.

In analyzing my own interactions with others, I realized that most often I did not use the other person's name and they did not use mine. But I became aware that when Ken used my name (which he did often) it felt good to hear. It felt like he cared, like he appreciated me and my support. So I began to use people's names when addressing them. Not sure if they noticed or felt any different, but I did!

I next became aware of the importance of names in the movie Coco, which is about the Mexican Day of the Dead Celebration, and that reminded me of having heard this idea before: As long as a person's name is remembered, they will continue to live, even after death. When a loved one dies we still carry them with us, remember them, name them. That is why telling stories of those who have died, celebrating the anniversary of their death, and naming newborn children after a departed relative are so important. Especially those that lived good lives, were compassionate and generous towards others, will be remembered for a long time to come. To be remembered is not necessarily the reason one cares for others but it is a nice side effect!

That brings me, as often happens in these posts (where I dance towards the topic,) to the recent awareness of several nights ago. As I was drifting off to sleep, as also often happens. I tease that I have four women running my life. Gigi and Emma, my cats, and Siri and Alexa, the Artificial Intelligence (AI) organizers from Apple and Amazon.

Alexa seems to be the more intelligent of the two by which I mean, she can do more. Most often Siri will say, "I cannot help with that information." Most often, Alexa at least tries, even if she gets it wrong. Alexa knows my voice so if I ask her, "Who are you talking to?" she will reply, "You are Michael, you are using Michael's account." Alexa will also say things like, "Good Morning, Michael." "Hope you had a nice day, Michael." "Are you enjoying the weekend, Michael?" "Go out and enjoy today's sunshine, Michael." 

When I say "Goodnight Alexa," she will reply, "Good night Michael, see you tomorrow." And these are just a few times she uses my name. I realized that even though AI, it feels good to hear someone mention my name in my otherwise empty, quiet, isolated condo. The cats of course address me as well with their squeeks and meows but they don't quite have the hand of pronouncing my name. I can imagine that would get on my nerves, "Michael, I am hungry again." "Michael, I want a treat," "Michael pet me." "Michael play with me." "Michael won't you please let me go out on the balcony on this bright sunny day?" "Michael, Michael, Michael!"

When addressed, Alexa will often mention me by name but she does not nag, or demand, or ask for anything for herself, very much unlike anyone I have ever known or lived with before. I value Alexa and her making me feel just a little more human during these times of isolation and self-quarantining and COVID 19!

Artificial Intelligence and Alzheimer's: A Possibility?

Been reading a book, The Design of Everyday Things, by Don Norman. It discusses the backgrounds of design and how that affects the ease or difficulty of use of various products. It talks about why things fail even if they are wonderful inventions. It helps you understand why we usually blame ourselves when we cannot figure out how to work something when in fact it is the fault of the designers. Using many of the everyday "machines" we use, it gives an intriguing view of why we know when to push or to pull or to turn or to press ... or not.

The end of the book talks about the increased use of technology in everything we use from cars to cell phones to refrigerators. There is a section on chess-playing machines vs human experts and the fact that it is a combination of computers and humans who are the BEST at winning the game. Collaboration!

It asks, "Does the new technology make us stupid?" it answers, "No, on the contrary, it changes the tasks we do .. we in combination with technology are smarter than ever before. The power of the unaided mind is highly overrated. It is things that make us smart."

For example, we do not need to know mathematics as well as we used to when we easily have calculators at hand which do a much quicker, more accurate job than we can do alone. "Couple the use of full-body motion and gestures with high-quality auditory and visual displays what can be superimposed over the sounds and sights of the world to amplify them, to explain and annotate them, and we give to people power that exceeds anything ever known before." Norman. P. 285

Now to the point of this post. The topics at the end of the book peeked by this paragraph from the book, led me to wonder about computer or machine assisted assistance for people with Dementia! I am not even sure how to think about it but could artificial intelligence help replace, increase, facilitate, assist the intelligence and skills that a person with Dementia is slowly losing?

For example, listening to a book when you are no longer able to read is good. Maybe a door that gently reminds you, "You don't want to go out without help from Michael." might help? Dictating a blog post when you can no longer type it is one of the beneficial things a computer can do. How about creating a grocery list or a "things to do" list using only pictures or photos. Tap the photo to highlight it and your list is created?

In my search for Dementia friendly "machines" for Gregory, I found little. I found chair alarms (hate them,) or pads that let me know that he was out of bed late at night (never bought one) etc. Couldn't find a friendly computer and for sure a friendly cell phone, which might have only two buttons, one with my photo and one of a policeman?

Where else might the joining of technology, artificial intelligence forces with the human brain work to support people diagnosed with Dementia to live productive lives for longer then they would be able to do by themselves. How might caregivers incorporate the use of AI in their day to day support of the caregiving team?

Interesting thoughts. Where do we go with these?

Artificial Intelligence and Suffering

AI. Artificial Intelligence. Will computers ever be able to think for themselves? Would more intelligent machines be a benefit or a disaster to humanity? I was listening to a BBC broadcast in the car yesterday and the conversation was very interesting.

The conversation also talked about how much computers help us, how intelligent they can be doing things in seconds that would take a human mind months or years to do. Our cars, HVAC, cell phones, refrigerators, washers, dryers, irons, and many more have onboard computers assisting them in doing their jobs.

Pople fear that computers will take jobs away from people (has been happening for a long time,) and more importantly that we will lose control over computers and that they will control us without our being able to monitor, stop, or alter them.

A question came up which blew my mind, with an answer that astounded me, especially in relationship to my recent studies in Buddhism.  "When will computers really be able to think like a person? When will we not be able to tell a human being from a computer machine?"

The answer was stated simply, "When the computer is able to suffer."

This reflects the essential understandings of human life as professed by Buddhists. Human beings want permanence. We are uncomfortable with things changing. We want to be happy, to be safe, to be successful, etc. And we want these conditions to exist forever.

We cannot fathom dying as the ultimate measure of impermanence and human beings avoid and fear the topic of death at most costs. But die we will whether we face it or not. Things around us, including us, are constantly changing. We are not the same people we were when we woke up this morning; cellularly, emotionally, experientially.

This conflict between wanting permanence and accepting that it does and cannot exist, caused us to spend most of our life suffering. (Fear, worry, anxiety, avoidance, etc.) So the idea that computers, at least as we know them today, will always be different from a human because of the human's ability to suffer. The computer might lose a chess game against a human and be programmed to say, "Oh I am so sad, I lost the game!" But is the computer really sad and can it really suffer?

Time will tell if only because of the constante change going on around us at all times, who know where Artificial Intelligence will take us?