This AI app claims it can calculate the day you die
Robert Heinlein’s first short story, titled Lifelinewas published in 1939 and tells the story of the inventor of a machine that can predict exactly when you will die with 100% precision. Eighty-five years after that chilling tale of inevitability versus free will, you can download an app called Death knell that uses AI to achieve the same performance. Granted, the app doesn’t claim infallibility and is more intended to encourage you to do things that will improve your prospects, but my first impression of the technology that portends your demise remains the same.
The Death Clock app predicts your ‘day of death’ based on the details you provide about your lifestyle: diet, exercise, stress levels, sleep – you know, the usual culprits. Developed by a company called Most Days, the app uses artificial intelligence trained on a massive dataset of more than 1,200 studies involving 53 million people, according to a Bloomberg report.
You start by entering data about how often you exercise, sleep quality, stress, and other factors. The app analyzes the data and gives you your ‘date of death’. However, it is not just a number. After you enter your details, the app offers a macabre farewell card featuring the Grim Reaper. The point is not so much to shock, but to use the result to encourage healthier habits by providing a stark reminder of your mortality. And judging by its popularity – it has been downloaded more than 10,000 times on Google Play – it works for a lot of people.
AI mower
Morbid curiosity aside, it is understandable why individuals would want to know an estimate of their lifespan. You can look for evidence of where you can improve your lifestyle to be healthier. It can even inform your retirement plans.
But there are two glaring problems with the Death Clock as a concept. First, no matter how accurate the numbers you submit, they don’t really tell the whole story of your health and well-being, let alone your ultimate lifespan. Most of the numbers we rely on to determine longevity are just averages. The Death Clock boasts a custom prediction, but the output can only match the quality of the data used to compare your numbers.
The other issue with the app is more about what it could mean for society if AI were to be relied on to measure lifespan and health. Imagine how insurance companies, employers, and government departments could quickly become (even more so) a dystopian maze where being young and healthy may not matter for getting healthcare or a job if an AI decides you are doomed to an early death. As with most AI products, the issue is when human judgment is replaced by AI and numbers without context. It’s hard enough when insurance companies only have actuarial tables and your medical records to use; an AI rating system would make things much worse.
If you’re interested in what the Death Clock can tell you about improving your lifestyle, that’s fine. Just make sure you don’t take it as gospel one way or another. The reaper may be on its way for all of us, but no AI can tell you when it’s sharpening its scythe