Just measure the amount of time spent on various social media apps...
Apple is working on iPhone features to help detect depression, cognitive decline
31–40 of 164 posts
Re: Apple is working on iPhone features to help detect depression, cognitive decline
#32As a counterpoint to everything here, the Apple Watch just saved a friends life by telling them they were in AFib.
Yes, it could be bad. Or it could be medically beneficial to people who are anxious and depressed and simply don’t have anyone to help them recognize it because they’re alone. Particularly during the pandemic, that would have been useful.
Re: Apple is working on iPhone features to help detect depression, cognitive decline
#33The single most valuable datapoint for advertisers is depression - they figured out a long time ago that depressed people are more easily marketed to. You can be sure they've already perfected the state of the art as far as is economically practical. Either Apple knows this already, or... actually, I can't think of any plausible reason that they wouldn't already know this.
Not sure how true that is. I’m relatively depressed … I don’t spend much money as I can’t be bothered.
Re: Apple is working on iPhone features to help detect depression, cognitive decline
#34Since most of the comments here seem to be on the hysterical side: 1. This is not something Apple is rolling out now with their devices and systems. 2. This is research being done by UCLA and BioNTech using Apple's various sensors. 3. There's nothing concerning here (yet). This is a common kind of research using novel sensors (either actually novel sensors or taking advantage of their now-pervasiveness). Webcams were…
The pattern is always the same. When an invasive technology or a precursor to an invasive technology is announced, someone on HN sagely points out that everyone should be reasonable and drop the conspiracy theories. Five years later the tech is on everyone's phone.
also, even if "privacy" is assured, once the tech is normalized either the private version can be cracked, or a similar but non-private tech is released everywhere else (with hooks for advertising/data-mining/govt access)
Re: Apple is working on iPhone features to help detect depression, cognitive decline
#35Feeling sad, angry, depressed are essential parts of who we really are. We are not something sits in containers waiting to be amused at every second. Salut, brave new world.
Clinical depression is different from feeling sad. Being able to detect cognitive decline would probably be a great boon in elder care.
Re: Apple is working on iPhone features to help detect depression, cognitive decline
#36As a counterpoint to everything here, the Apple Watch just saved a friends life by telling them they were in AFib. Yes, it could be bad. Or it could be medically beneficial to people who are anxious and depressed and simply don’t have anyone to help them recognize it because they’re alone. Particularly during the pandemic, that would have been useful.
Frankly, it would probably be fine if it could be turned off and if turned on, doesn’t report its findings back to Apple (or anyone, but you, for the matter).
Re: Apple is working on iPhone features to help detect depression, cognitive decline
#37It was terribly dangerous to let your thoughts wander when you were in any public place or within range of a telescreen. The smallest thing could give you away. A nervous tic, an unconscious look of anxiety, a habit of muttering to yourself -- anything that carried with it the suggestion of abnormality, of having something to hide. In any case, to wear an improper expression on your face (to look incredulous when a v…
I am reminded of one of the Trump rallies the other year. There was a fellow in a plaid shirt who was ejected and detained by the SS for not manifesting suitably ecstatic facial expressions.
https://time.com/5390792/plaid-shirt-guy-speaks-out-trump-ra...
Re: Apple is working on iPhone features to help detect depression, cognitive decline
#38If a human with a medical degree has a hard time diagnosing mental health issues after spending hours with a person, I don't see how this research will provide anything except noisy garbage data.
Re: Apple is working on iPhone features to help detect depression, cognitive decline
#39The single most valuable datapoint for advertisers is depression - they figured out a long time ago that depressed people are more easily marketed to. You can be sure they've already perfected the state of the art as far as is economically practical. Either Apple knows this already, or... actually, I can't think of any plausible reason that they wouldn't already know this.
Not sure how true that is. I’m relatively depressed … I don’t spend much money as I can’t be bothered.
Yeah I'm just making it up, all those years managing analytics for tens of millions of highly engaged subscribers and dealing with scumbag databrokers pales in comparison to "advertising doesn't work on me".
Re: Apple is working on iPhone features to help detect depression, cognitive decline
#40Since most of the comments here seem to be on the hysterical side: 1. This is not something Apple is rolling out now with their devices and systems. 2. This is research being done by UCLA and BioNTech using Apple's various sensors. 3. There's nothing concerning here (yet). This is a common kind of research using novel sensors (either actually novel sensors or taking advantage of their now-pervasiveness). Webcams were…
>If the research finds that any of that data correlates with relevant mental-health conditions, the hope is to turn those signals into an app or feature that could warn people they might be at risk and prompt them to seek care
I am worried about the part of article that mentions that they want to automate the analysis of the data to some degree and move it out a strictly clinical research setting.
I have also done some research in the field and my final sentiment is that the data is too noisy to be ultimately useful and the problem is hard to define in a quantitative way. I predict having more data isn't going to show a more clear correlation between things.