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- Lazy Sunday #24
Good day, good people!
It is good to be back. I am sorry I broke my streak and did not send anything last week. As I was recovering from a medical procedure, there wasn’t really the mood to lift my fingers, let alone lift my legs.
Nothing!
I used the time to watch “Dark Matter” (available on Apple TV). Did not really realize how close the topic of the series is to the matter of this newsletter. There was more neuroscience than expected.
No, it is not a twist on “Grey’s Anatomy” or other hospital series. If you are on the look-out for something sci-fiy, I recommend it.
While in the hospital, I chatted a bit with the surgeon.
That day he operated from 10am in the morning until approximately 6pm in the evening with little breaks in between.
That is a long time in a high-risk environment. It made me continue my thought from my last newsletter. If we are limited by our ability to concentrate deeply for more than 5-6h, then how on earth are surgeons able to operate a whole day?
The answer: simulations
Simulations mimic real situations. A simulation provides visual, audio or sometimes even physical feedback. With the onset of VR and AR, simulations have gone to a completely new level. This is a good example showing that the brain has difficulties differentiating between real and simulation if the simulation is done well. 😏
Used for training purposes, simulations help to settle processes and procedures well into long-term memory. This helps to take mental load off for real-life situations and allows the brain to build up schemas - easily retrievable data sets of memories (we discussed it in this newsletter).
Simulations are constantly used preparing for high-stake environments for military: the US military spends $US 26billion dollars each year on simulation training; pilot training (like Lufthansa), surgeon training, or simulations to mimic patients care.
The brain does not really care whether it is a simulation or not, it still has to work through the task at hand.
School and office work
Why aren’t we utilizing it more for learning in for exams at university, training at the office?
When simulations are offered, they are being picked up more often - as they can be accesses when time permits vs. class-room training or long videos.
Training in simulations allows us to repeat same or similar processes. Repetition helps to reduce stress reactions. Over time, the processes settle in our long-term memory. We retrieve information faster.
In a study for surgeons, the time for operations reduced by almost 30% if the surgeons underwent regular simulation trainings.
Today, we can even build our own simulations with AI for simple things.
For example, I outlined a step-by-step guide to build an AI agent to help with job interviews here - no code required.
Simulations as treatments
There are plenty of use cases for simulations as treatments.
The US Veterans Health Administration just finished a summit on how immersive technologies can help veterans to deal with post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD) and other symptoms post assignments. The NYT has a detailed article on this. Worth reading!
Obviously, PTSD is not only prominent in veterans, but any individual, who experienced a traumatic episode in life, can have such symptoms.
Flintworks, is one of many companies utilizing VR to simulate environments and flexibly creating stressors within the environment to get the patients used to them. The patient is immersed in a digital environment, e.g. a full restaurant. The environment can then be modified. People and noise can be reduced or added depending on the reactions of the patients. Over time, the goal is to increase the people in the restaurant, without getting enormous stress reactions by the patient.
And now that we have VR for mice, we can simulate new environments for them as well. 🤭
Today, we also look at emotions at work, AI playing “The Sims” and exoskeletons.
Find my research: neuroscience
Virtual Reality for depression treatment
We briefly discussed ADHD and PTSD, but even for depression treatments, simulations through virtual reality could be helpful.
Things like playing VR mini-golf or games with others had a positive effect on individuals with depression. And you can do that from home.
Stress in early adulthood can have cognitive consequences later in life
Stress and an unhealthy life-style in the early 20s can increase cognitive decline 20 years later by up to 30%, impacting reaction time, impulse control and working memory.
We can not really avoid stress. But we can improve our eating and exercising habits. Instead of sitting with chips and Netflix, go for a walk. ;-)
And dump those cigarettes!
(UCSF)
Next decade of neuroscience
The MIT released a looong article on the next decade of digital brain research. Lots of stuff, here are key points - technology will be such a game changer, and we are just getting started.
Integration of multiscale data: Move towards integrating data from various scales, from molecular to behavioral levels, to create a more comprehensive understanding of brain function.
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning are expected to play a crucial role in analyzing complex brain data, identifying patterns, and generating new hypotheses.
Brain-inspired computing: Insights from neuroscience will increasingly inform the development of new computing architectures and algorithms.
Personalized neuroscience: Advances in technology are expected to enable more individualized approaches to studying and treating brain disorders.
Ethical considerations: Ethical issues related to brain research will become more prominent, particularly as technologies become more advanced and potentially invasive.
Collaborative and open science: Push towards more collaborative research efforts and open data sharing to accelerate progress in the field (Google DeepMind an amazing example: Link 1, Link 2, Link 3)
Real-time brain monitoring: Technologies for continuous, real-time monitoring of brain activity a potential game-changer in neuroscience research and medical devices.
Brain-computer interfaces: Advanced brain-computer interfaces to both enhance our understanding of the brain and provide new therapeutic options.
Computational modeling: Increased role for computational models in predicting brain function and testing hypotheses.
(MIT)
Find my research: office
Emotions at the office - or leave them in front of the office door?
In many western cultures, emotions at work are frowned upon. It is not deemed professional to be emotional, to show feelings of stress or fear.
But many studies show, that allowing emotions to be part of the work-life, actually helps team building and performance. That might be a construction site for men more than women. 🤷
Discussing emotions: long deemed unprofessional, data shows it pays off. Acknowledging an employee’s feelings of stress, sadness, fear - even if the source is unrelated from work - helps teams perform better. A feeling of belonging and being seen drives dedication.
Personal matters: I have seen colleagues from India struggle in our German office. “Nobody seems to care about anything other than work!”. In Germany, private matters, interests, problems etc. are rarely discussed, even at lunch or after-work dinners. It’s culture. But building personal connections, allowing to discuss personal issues or feelings, builds trust. And emotional trust carries over to better outcomes at work.
No need a solution: Now this, dear gentlemen readers, is a problem often for us. Somebody comes with a problem, our initial reaction is to respond with a solution. More often than not, it is not required. It is helpful to just listen, acknowledge, and then, maybe then, inquire whether some ideas and solutions can be shared.
On top of tech
What happens if you put 25 agentic digital agents into “The Sims” like simulation?
All still remember “The Sims”? A computer game, you build an imaginary world, put people in and help them live their lives?
Next level: put AI in a digital world, let them figure it out themselves, then watch the study unfold.
Some quotes from the paper:
(…) starting with only a single user-specified notion that one agent wants to throw a Valentine’s Day party, the agents autonomously spread invitations to the party over the next two days, make new acquaintances, ask each other out on dates to the party, and coordinate to show up for the party together at the right time.
or
For instance, generative agents turn off the stove when they see that their break- fast is burning, wait outside the bathroom if it is occupied, and stop to chat when they meet another agent they want to talk to.1 A society full of generative agents is marked by emergent social dynamics where new relationships are formed, information diffuses, and coordination arises across agents.
Basically, they developed human-like behaviour and models of interactions mighty quickly. Imagine what would happen with the current models?
The study concludes:
This opens up the possibility of creating even more powerful simulations of human behavior to test and prototype social systems and theories, as well as to create new interactive experiences.
These simulations could help to make homes smarter.
Imagine, you had an AI, that learns your behaviours? When you need coffee in the morning, what temperature you sleep best in, when to heat / cool lounge room and takes it from there?!
Open source tool to analyse body movements
German scientists used videos to AI-models to analyse human movements and derive intention or even state-of-mind.
EMOKINE will help scientists answer research questions about how kinematic parameters of whole-body movements convey different intentions, feelings, and states of mind to the observer.
Will we be open books soon, where all of our feelings can be read through computer vision?
Planning simulations
The study is a little bit technical. Even I skipped some. The most interesting part:
"In addition, a method in which both human and animal experimental participants and RNNs were all trained to perform the same task offers an innovative and foundational way to gain insights into behaviors.”
Ultimately they managed to train the machine learning algorithm to almost identically mimc the brains neural circuits and its reactions to inputs. That is pretty impressive.
Simulations help with planning
Another side of the simulation coin: thinking about a process activates the relevant brain regions. Activities that benefit from it can be:
going through a mental map (building, maze, city)
specific movements e.g. as a professional athlete.
going mentally through a specific process e.g. when you manage a project
Visual simulation is almost as good as physical, real training. It activates the same regions in the brain, retrieves the same knowledge using the same retrieval process and therefore engages with the relevant pathways, hence strengthening them.
The “only” big thing missing is real-world feedback for every action performed. You don’t know how whether the ground is slippery, whether the customer has a bad day - these are situational inputs our brain needs to process.
This research team used computational simulations alongside tests with animals as well. It shows how quickly digital neural networks are finding their way into brain research.
What does it mean for you?
More simulations for learning.
Use role-plays for sales teams, customer support (well-trained AI or person to person).
Use step-by-step walk-throughs for project teams.
Rehearse for yourself, before a presentation.
Too many people discard this.
(MIT)
Media Box
The big guys are entering the stage.
A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, identified neuroscience and related tech as a key growth area.
JPMorgan, the world’s largest bank, announced a new fund to invest in health and biotech.
US$500,000,000.
This is a big war chest.
Misc but not least…
AI - Neuroscience - Engineering. How far away are we from robotic humans?
As you know, the BMW has partnered with Figure to allow autonomous robots to be part of the assembly line for cars. Here is an update:
What is between humans and robots?
Exoskeletons.
Exoskeletons are used in industries requiring to lift heavy items, such as car or plane manufacturing. Boeing has a whole story dedicated to it.
There is a recent study that trained exoskeletons like these to learn and “foresee” human movements.
Exoskeletons aren’t new per se, but I think they will have a much brighter future with everything that is happening.
The impact on individuals following a tragic accident, like the video below is pretty mind-blowing, for sure.
Thank you for reading.
Please share the link on social media or by forwarding this episode of Lazy Sunday to your friends and colleagues.
Have a great rest of the weekend.
Alex
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