Advancing ambient assisted living with caution

Abstract

As technology advances, systems involving artificial components provide more and more support for people. The potential consequences of this phenomena are examined in the specific circumstances of ‘ambient assisted living’ as an instantiation of the concept of ‘intelligent environment’. This chapter describes the idea of ‘ambient assisted living’ and looks at some of the possible ways humans may be affected by the prevalence of technology. The general example of assisted healthcare, and the specific example of medication support are used to show that systems are advancing. Moreover, these advancements can lead to problems with both the artificial systems, and the larger systems with which they are involved. In many cases there is a trade-off around having people in the loop, but inevitably they will need to be included for many decision making processes. Keeping a person in the loop might also partially redress problems of Artificial General Intelligence systems. The chapter concludes with reflections on how these considerations can help us to retain the positive aspects whilst avoiding the negative side effects of the hypothetical technological singularity.