Lenovo has worked with the group Innovations For Dementia to build what it describes as the first avatar companion for people living with dementia and Alzheimer’s.

The custom AI – who goes by the name Liv – was based on the experiences of people who have received a diagnosis.

“This proof-of-concept project gives people and families navigating a diagnosis of dementia 24-hour access to a conversational avatar that offers curated advice that prioritises accuracy, privacy, and compassion,” Lenovo says.

The concept was unveiled in Seattle at Tech World, Lenovo’s annual event.

Lenovo also introduced Lenovo AI Now, a local AI agent that “transforms PCs into personalised assistants”; the new ThinkPad X1 2-in-1 Gen 10 Aura Edition AI laptop that integrates AI-driven features for hybrid work; and Lenovo Learning Zone, an AI-powered personal educational software platform.

Motorola announced the launch of new moto ai experiences into beta testing, with plans to expand beta invites progressively through to the end of the year.

Doug Fisher, Chief Security and AI Officer at Lenovo, said that AI technology must be harnessed “purposefully and responsibly for communities that may be overlooked by innovative technology”.

 

Lenovo’s AI Avatar.

 

“Globally there are around 55 million people living with dementia, and that number is expected to reach 139 million by 2050,” said Dr David Llewellyn, Professor of Clinical Epidemiology and Digital Health at the University of Exeter. 

“The AI advancements in Lenovo’s ‘Alzheimer’s Intelligence’ initiative demonstrate how technology has the potential to enhance human interaction, offering a valuable tool to support individuals living with dementia, both in the present and future.”

Lenovo says it employed its individual and enterprise tech solutions to aggregate “firsthand experience and advice from hundreds of real people living with dementia and Alzheimer’s into a responsive, photoreal 3D avatar capable of having an unscripted, natural conversation”.

“With this proof of concept, a person diagnosed with dementia is just a click away from a real-time conversational resource and aid,” the company says.

Steve Milton, Director, Innovations in Dementia, said that when people are first diagnosed with dementia, “they can feel lost, with so many questions about what is happening. This AI doesn’t replace human contact but what it does do is offer a knowledgeable and compassionate source of assurance and advice based directly on the experiences and wisdom of other people with dementia”. 

 

Lenovo Tech World 2023.

 

The avatar was created from a composite of images of 10 people living with dementia and Alzheimer’s. From the initial pose of each image, generative AI extrapolated faces for several thousand other expressions and angles. These were aggregated into one dataset, “which blends with the face of a filmed performer to create the image of ‘Liv’ the AI avatar”.

“A large language model (LLM) dataset of the advice Liv can impart was created using data that came directly from experiences of people living with dementia, including entries from Innovations in Dementia’s Dementia Diaries project and in-depth panel interviews,” Lenovo says.

“Each time a user asks a question (via Speech-to-text), the LLM queries the dataset to provide text-based answers to the user’s question, expressed using the language of the ‘persona’ created for Liv, and based on the knowledge base built for Liv.”

The replies are voiced using a vocal synth created for the project.

“Sentiment analysis” is used to “analyse the underlying feeling of the reply, which is reflected in the facial expression of the AI when it speaks”.

4K visual AI is used to allow the speech generated by the vocal synth to appear to be spoken in real time, Lenovo says.

“Alzheimer’s Intelligence will allow people who have recently been diagnosed with dementia to ask the questions that only someone who has lived with the disease can answer, including understanding day-to-day challenges, discussing the disease with family, and exploring new hobbies.”

The company says it has been designed to be accessible and require minimal tech expertise.

The avatar is currently being trialled by people with dementia in a “controlled environment” and Lenovo says it hopes to make it widely available in the future.

No medical advice is offered by the avatar.

 

Lenovo developing AI for people with Alzheimer’s and dementia.

 

Focus group participant Gail Gregory said: “It’s so important to have real people involved in the creation of the avatar. Because the people with dementia are the experts. We’re the ones living with it. You can’t just grab things from a textbook because it’s not real. It must be real.

“And the more realistic it is the more relatable it is. I think it is going to be a very useful tool, especially for people living on their own because they’ve got nobody to ask.”

During the Tech World event, Lenovo Chairman and CEO Yuanqing Yang said the company was working on an AI-powered “communication solution” for people with motor neurone disease ALS, combining AI avatars, eye-tracking tech and and predictive LLMs.

It was also collaborating with InCor, a cardiac hospital in Latin America, on a “clinical-grade arrhythmia detection platform, which brings AI to a small, wearable IoT device for real-time monitoring”.