The "build-a-child" trend runs wild

Good morning, and happy Thursday! Are you ready to be smarter than all your friends? Let’s jump in. 😇

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AI’S PROFOUND BREAST CANCER DETECTION 🩺

We are one step closer to better treatment for one of humanity’s worst diseases. 🙏

What’s up? A brand new early-stage study published in The Lancet Oncology found that AI outperformed experienced doctors in detecting breast cancer from mammograms, with less false positives.

What were the results? The study involved more than 80,000 women in Sweden who underwent mammograms, with half of the group having their scans read by AI before being analyzed by a radiologist, while the other half had their mammograms read by two radiologists without AI assistance. The AI-assisted group showed a 20% increase in cancer detection compared to the radiologist-only group. Additionally, the AI use resulted in a significant reduction in radiologists' reading workload, cutting it by 44%.

How does this work? AI algorithms are designed to analyze medical images—in this case, mammograms—with advanced pattern recognition and deep neural networks. They can detect subtle patterns and anomalies that may be challenging for even experienced radiologists to identify.

What does this mean? While the study shows promising results for AI-assisted breast cancer detection, it does not mean that AI-powered computers will replace doctors in diagnosing cancer anytime soon. The researchers emphasized that AI should be used in conjunction with trained radiologists, who ultimately make the final diagnosis based on the AI's analysis and their own expertise.

YOUTUBE TESTING AI-GENERATED VIDEO SUMMARIES 🎥

Amidst the AI storm on social media, YouTube has decided to jump in. 🦾

What’s up? YouTube is testing out AI-generated video summaries for videos on their platform. Video summary tools are not new to AI, but this implementation by YouTube within the platform itself is a step forward for AI adoption on social media.

Why? According to YouTube, these summaries are designed to give users a "quick overview of what a video is about." YouTube was specific to note that these summaries are not meant to replace the summaries written by the creators themselves, but are rather meant to give an objective overview of the video in addition to the creator’s description. The summaries will be available within the coming weeks and will only be available in English for the time being.

AI FUELS “BUILD-A-CHILD” 👶

Ever heard of Build-A-Bear? Well, how about “build-a-child”? 🤔

What’s going on? Recent investigations have exposed the emergence of a disturbing "build-a-child" industry fueled by AI. In other words, people are exploiting advanced AI technology to create virtual simulations of children, and in some cases real children.

How is this happening? With the help of AI, doctors have been able to use image and DNA scanning to show parents what their potential child could look like. Furthermore, fertility clinics can now utilize in vitro fertilization (IVF) in collaboration with AI data analysis to generate and examine embryos, aiming to find a child that aligns with a parent's desired traits. It is worth noting that these clinics then typically discard the unwanted embryos. In the United States, approximately 75% of IVF clinics provide genetic testing, enabling parents to produce multiple embryos and choose the one that matches their preferred gender, eye color, hair color, and skin color. Additionally, they can assess the likelihood of certain health issues in the child. Controversially, there was a case where deaf parents attempted to conceive a child who would inherit their deafness.

Virtual babies? In some cases, parents have been able to create a virtual baby which looks like them (and their partner, if they desire) which they can care for from their phone. Though there are some positive uses for this type of feature, the emotional toll on individuals who engage with AI-generated child avatars is concerning, with potential long-term psychological impacts.

What does this mean? The ethical considerations for the “build-a-child” trend are undoubtedly immense, and it is a very important issue that all people should be aware of and keep an eye on. 👀

THOUGHTFUL THURSDAY 🤔

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