AI to predict the future

What will our earnings be? Will we get cancer? Will we be obese? These questions may not remain unanswered in the future thanks to a new algorithm created by scientists from the Technical University of Denmark (DTU).

A programme called "life2vec" analyses patterns in people's lives and uses them to predict our future.

The life2vec algorithm works on a similar principle to ChatGPT, but focuses on analysing variables that influence the lives of individual people, such as date and place of birth, education, social benefits, and even working time. Based on this data, the programme can predict a wide range of health or social "events" in our lives.

The data on which the model is based comes from anonymous information collected by the official agency Statistics Denmark. By analysing sequences of events in the lives of approximately six million Danes, the algorithm can predict the course of life - from birth to death.

"This is a very general framework for predicting human life. However, we already know that the future possibilities are virtually limitless," says Sune Lehmann, professor at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), one of the authors of the study published in the scientific journal, Nature Computational Science.

Life2vec is more than just a tool for predicting the future. It can also help doctors diagnose and treat patients. For example, in February 2024, scientists at Penn Medicine developed an AI tool to quickly analyse gene activity, which could help detect cancer lesions more quickly.

"For example, it can predict health status. So it can predict fertility or obesity, or it can predict who will get cancer and who won't. Besides, it can also predict whether you will earn a lot of money," mentions Prof. Lehmann.

Danish scientists claim that their algorithm can predict the time and cause of death by as much as 78% of analysed cases. Slightly lower, but still 73%, it can boast of its effectiveness in predicting whether a given person will move to another city or country.

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However, despite the potential benefits, the development of life2vec raises some concerns. Insurance companies are already using AI programmes, and precisely determining who may get sick, and when, can be used against us. Therefore, although AI tools can be a great support, strict legal regulations on their use are necessary.

This article was originally published on Onet Woman.