Society

The “death calculator” is what this AI (artificial intelligence) is capable of identifying: major stages of life up until death.

Danish researchers have been working for years on an algorithm that can predict “premature deaths in 35-65 year olds,” reports Le Parisien. And, so far, the tests have been rather conclusive, and they have even appeared in the journal Nature Computational Science.

To develop the Life2vec AI [Life Expectancy Calculator AI], “scientists used an operating model similar to that of ChatGPT. But instead of processing textual data, the algorithm analyzes the stages of life such as birth, education, social benefits or even work hours.” According to them, life is just a series of events. For their tests, researchers relied on data from nearly 6 million anonymous Danes.

AI is right in 78% of cases

Professor at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), Sune Lehmann, explains: “With a very young cohort of people aged between 35 and 65, we try to predict, based on an eight-year period (2008 to 2016), whether the person will die in the next four years, until 2020. The model does this very well, better than any other algorithm.” Deaths in this age group are relatively few, which allows scientists to verify the reliability of the program. “On death, the algorithm is right in 78% of cases, on migrations, in 73%,” says Le Parisien.

The tool remains, for the moment, at its initial stage. Indeed, it presents many biases… Researchers do not yet know if it treats all subjects in the same way. Predicting the risk of cancer, fertility, obesity… but also the chances of winning the lottery: this AI could well revolutionize the future.

(MH with AsD - Source: Le Parisien - Illustration: Unsplash)