Generative mHealth Workshop
Generative AI models including Chat-GPT and Stable Diffusion that can generate fluent text and photo realistic images are having a significant impact on many sectors of society, including education, journalism, art and more. Simultaneously, emerging wearable technologies including hearables (in-ear audio devices) and augmented reality (AR) headsets are transforming the ways that individuals access and interact with media and other data. The goal of this workshop is to bring together health researchers and experts in AI and wearable device technologies to discuss the specific opportunities and challenges involved in leveraging the combination of generative AI and these new wearable technologies to develop novel and enhanced forms of behavioral health interventions.
With 86% of healthcare costs attributable to chronic diseases that are strongly impacted by modifiable health-related daily behaviors, applying generative AI to develop novel behavioral interventions has the potential for significant impact. Current and emerging generative AI methods with the ability to synthesize text, speech, images, and video are particularly well matched for deployment on hearables and AR devices, enabling both richer intervention content and the potential for more ubiquitous and immersive intervention experiences compared to the current generation of text-based motivational messages and smartphone intervention apps.
While Generative AI has resulted in significant advances in conversational text generation and text-to-image synthesis, the application of these methods to generate components of behavioral interventions and deliver them through more ubiquitous modalities has not been explored and would represent a significant advance over current approaches that primarily tailor interventions by selecting between pre-specified content. However, this raises many open questions related to ethics, efficacy, and alignment with existing treatment guidelines and behavior theories. Further, current generative AI models are not able to natively leverage data from wearable health sensing technologies. Building the capacity to do so requires overcoming multiple technical challenges related to data scarcity, between-person variability, missing data and more.
This workshop will provide a forum to discuss both the significant opportunity that the conjunction of generative AI and novel wearables represents in the mobile health space, and the significant scientific and socio-technical challenges that need to be overcome to ensure that resulting approaches are safe, efficacious, ethical, contextually appropriate, engaging and adaptive.
Workshop Objectives:
The workshop serves as a platform for exploring the innovative synergy between generative AI and emerging wearable technologies. It aims to delve into the limitless possibilities these technologies offer, especially in the realm of behavioral health interventions. Participants will engage in discussions on how generative AI models and wearable devices can be integrated to create novel intervention approaches.
By focusing on generative AI, wearables, and mHealth interventions, the workshop aims to identify specific opportunities and challenges in leveraging these technologies. This includes understanding the capabilities of generative AI models in synthesizing text, speech, images, and video, and exploring how these components can be deployed effectively on wearables like hearables and AR devices.
Participants will tackle the ethical, technical, and socio-technical challenges associated with generative AI and wearable technologies. This includes ensuring the interventions are safe, efficacious, ethical, contextually appropriate, engaging, and adaptive. Discussions will revolve around aligning interventions with existing treatment guidelines, overcoming data scarcity, dealing with between-person variability, and addressing missing data in the context of wearable health sensing technologies.
The workshop incorporates brainstorming sessions where experts collaboratively explore generative AI applications for health interventions. Breakout sessions in concurrent tracks (Generative AI, VR/AR, and Hearables) facilitate in-depth discussions and knowledge sharing among specialized groups. Networking breaks and continued breakout sessions foster collaboration and provide opportunities for attendees to connect and exchange ideas.
A pivotal goal of the workshop is to develop a strategic roadmap. Through report-back sessions and working groups, attendees will summarize key findings, insights, and gaps identified during the workshop. These inputs will contribute to the development of a white paper outlining the research agenda for this emerging research area, guiding future studies and innovations in the field.
The closing session of the workshop will provide a platform for summarizing outcomes and contributions. Participants will share insights gained and discuss the next steps for the research community. The workshop aims to foster a sense of community, encouraging ongoing collaboration, knowledge exchange, and joint initiatives in the evolving landscape of generative mHealth interventions and wearable technologies.
More information on the workshop including the program and attendees may be viewed here.