Artificial Intelligence (AI) is enabling tools that could help increase lifespan

A new commentary published in 2021 shows how the latest advances in AI can help you live longer. Recent applications of AI to aging research are empowering scientists with new tools and fueling the emergence of the field of longevity medicine. Aging is universal among all living things, and often a good predictor of health and mortality. It affects all organs of the body and plays a key role in the onset and progression of multiple human diseases. This explains why many chronic conditions and illnesses occur simultaneously later in life. Much of today’s biomedical research focuses on identifying disease mechanisms and developing drugs to treat symptoms or cure them. But many experts agree that alleviating the burden of aging may have a stronger impact on average life expectancy than focusing on prevention and treatment of individual diseases. The new article, published by professionals in the fields of longevity, clinical medicine, and artificial intelligence, shows how Deep Learning enables the development of tools that outperform humans in longevity-related clinical tasks. Deep learning is a subset of artificial intelligence that imitates the workings of the human brain to process massive data and help make astute decisions. Advancements in Deep Learning are being used to create Deep Aging Clocks (DAC) that estimate your biological age based on data obtained from blood analysis. This enables clinicians to better assess and monitor individual health risks and then formulate tailored interventions or lifestyle changes. While chronological age tells how old you are (in years, months, and days), biological age defines how old your cells are based on lifestyle factors such as diet, exercise, attitude, stress, and sleep. Researchers agree that biological age is a better predictor of mortality, diseases, and frailty than chronological age. This is because it changes in response to anti-aging interventions and can track biological hallmarks of aging such as cellular deterioration caused by smoking. DAC is an excellent example of how AI can be used in longevity medicine. But other Deep Learning-based applications exist that outperform humans in real-life tasks. These include dermatological testing algorithms and radiological image analysis programs that help with the early detection of cancer and aneurysms. Longevity medicine is a branch of precision medicine that is growing fast. It aims to help slow down or reverse aging-associated processes (biological, psychological, and physiological). With the application of modern AI to longevity medicine, it is easy to envision a future where physicians will be able to unearth health findings that have a direct implication on your lifespan. But this will require increased collaboration between clinicians, anti-aging scientists, and Artificial Intelligence researchers. The applications of tech-powered clinical tools are endless. It may be possible that aging will be treated and monitored as a medical condition, and AI tools that help address this condition integrated into the current framework of clinical practice. Pharmaceutical companies could use this technology to develop anti-aging products. Insurance providers might rely on AI longevity medicine tools to provide services that are better tailored to their clients’ needs. The ultimate goal (for these advances) is to increase the period of healthy productive life while ensuring health equity. This can be achieved by developing solutions that are easily available for both the rich and the poor.