Understanding humans
Human beings are systems, but we understand very little about how they work. Imagine technology that does something very simple: watches, and speaks.
We know what a powerful effect speech can have on us. It can inspire us, depress us, inform us, and guide us. Imagine technology that observes so intently that every signal of what is going on inside you is captured. And eventually understood. Technology that responds directly to its observations. Are you feeling scared? Wouldn't such technology be able to affect us in radical ways, each uniquely, responsively? Sometimes we feel that what goes inside our body/mind complex is hidden from view, but it's not - not if you observe carefully. And with the ability to affect us with speech, an endless series of experiments.
With a goal firmly in mind, such technology would do everything it could to achieve it. To understand the human system of its subject through observation and learning, and speak in a way to best achieve that goal.
A hypothesis.
Initial thoughts
Does such a system need a pre-baked (albeit generalized) model of a human as a starting point? Does it need to be told what fear is, or can it learn?
Perhaps we need at least the presumption that what a subject says is true. Are you scared? Yes. But most of the time we don't even know what's going on ourselves! Better to leave the technology (it needs a name!) to figure things out for itself.
In any case, the goal needs to be described in terms of the subject system. Can such a description be made simple, and shallow? Instinct says that it should be possible, if only with some fundamental principles in place. Principles relating to well-being. Do we need direct brain monitoring, like an EEG? Hopefully not.
What resources might be needed to start:
- A computer system with 'some software'(!).
- High-definition video.
- High-definition audio input.
- High-definition audio output.
- Other sensors: infrared video, heart rate, respiratory monitoring.
- Lots of time, and (possibly) lots of subjects.
Perhaps if I can build a system that understands and affects me, that system would also be pretty good at doing the same for others.