US throws millions at AI to diagnose diseases by the sound of your voice

The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) has earmarked as much as $14 million in funding to support the training of AI software that can analyze patients' voices to diagnose and study illness. Twelve research institutions led by the University of South Florida (USF) will receive the money to varying degrees over four years …

[Anonymous Coward]

Incoming pre-employment screening voodoo in 5..4..3..2..

[Kevin McMurtrie]

I have a bad feeling about this

Momentary mood has an enormous impact on speech. I suspect it's far larger than the early markers of neurodegenerative disease. That brings me to the suspicion that somebody's looking for an excuse to illegally analyze a very large amount of recorded voice data.

[david 12]

Re: I have a bad feeling about this

Deep depression has a classic and easily recognizable characteristic voice.

[Fred Daggy]

Re: I have a bad feeling about this

"Here I am with a brain the size of a planet and they ask me to pick up a piece of paper. Call that job satisfaction? I don't."

I'd say that is a pretty recognisable symptom.

[tmTM]

Up next on things that won't work

Sure the science is good and you can make something work in a lab.

Zero chance of it operating well outside of those conditions tho, not with background noise, dodgy connections, people that hold their devices out in front of their face to talk.

You'd just end up with tons of false positives, or you'd have to tune the threshold so low you'd miss out genuine cases.

[NXM]

Brain the size of a planet

Marvin the paranoid android would be able to diagnose himself if he installed this. And maybe cure the terrible pain in all the diodes down his left side.