Apple is rumored to be expanding its Health app in iOS 17, including an AI trainer to provide tips and new features to monitor the user’s mental health. While this is currently speculation, skeptics are already speaking up, concerned that the AI could negatively influence people and potentially drive them crazy. However, the increasing paternalism of devices could also have negative effects on people, depending on their character and temperament. Some people, especially younger generations, have astronomically high levels of screen time, leading to the need for digital detox.
Tech companies like Apple and Google provide tools for digital detox, but there are concerns that their efforts to further develop the smartphone into a consultant in everyday life are a step towards making it even more indispensable. Nonetheless, many people in the age of self-tracking desire to gain even more data about themselves to optimize themselves. Healthcare AI and new functions for mental health would first satisfy the growing need of many people to gain more data about themselves and optimize their health.
The allegedly planned new functions for the Health app would certainly come in handy for people who do not notice themselves slipping into a psychological problem. Nonetheless, there are concerns that it’s a contempt for humans to hand them over to an AI, and that it’s better to give people help when required. It is crucial that human beings come into play when the system detects problems, and data protection is a paramount issue that needs attention.
Health data is of a completely different quality than the question of which socks one prefers to buy, and while it’s nice to trust a tech company on this issue, regulators must look closely to give effective protection to individuals’ data. Ultimately, it should be up to the user to decide whether they want the AI coach to keep an eye on their health while using an Apple Watch or an iPhone.
