Byron and Max on stage with Jupiter Sheep
And how AI might have a positive role in helping a friend come back from a severe heart attack.
Some of you might have read my diaries about my dear friend Byron and his sudden heart attack which left him unconscious and on a ventilator for a couple of days, and how it appears somewhat miraculously that he is expected to recover.
What you might not know is that I’ve been using ChatGPT a lot in my own work lately, mostly as an administrative assistant for setting up a consulting business for helping podcasters make their websites more accessible and for guidance on creating transcripts. In doing so, I’ve been amazed at how effective it has been at helping me with such a complex project. I have ADHD, and things of this nature are often quite daunting for me. I’ve been wondering if ChatGPT could turn out to provide significant value for ADHD sufferers in general and have even thought about writing a book about it.
Back to my friend Byron, though, and the double meaning of the title of this post. Byron’s body is recovering well from the trauma of his heart attack, though he’ll still be needing open heart surgery in coming weeks. The attending physician thinks there’s a great chance he’ll recover his physical health completely. His mental health, however, could be another matter, and it’s a matter of continuing concern.
I visited him for several hours yesterday and he had progressed wonderfully since I had last seen him only two days after the event when he could barely open his eyes and showed no recognition of me when he did so, leaving me pretty shook up afterward. This time he was mostly lucid and could converse easily. It was the nature of the conversation that bothered me. He asked “what the hell is going on — why am I here?” and I explained about his heart attack which seemed to astonish him but he seemed to process it appropriately. Then would come many questions, about other friends and family, how everyone was doing, where we were living, etc. Each time he’d accept the answer and would move on. Moments later the exact same questions would be repeated as if he’d never asked them before. There seems to be a serious short term memory issue, which I guess I should have expected. My concern is how much is temporary and how much might linger and for how long? Will he ever be back to normal? How could I help him? I wish I could answer these questions, and googling for answers left me with even more concerns.
Finally, I thought, why not see what ChatGPT thinks about it? I gave it as detailed a summary of the symptoms I’d seen and the medical reports I heard and asked it to provide some guidance. This is what it came back with:
I'm sorry to hear about your friend's situation, but it's encouraging to know he's recovering. The confusion and memory issues he's experiencing are not uncommon following a significant medical event like a heart attack, particularly if there was a period of reduced oxygen supply to the brain. This can occur during cardiac arrest or when a patient is on a ventilator.
Given the information you've provided, your friend may be experiencing a condition called Post-Cardiac Arrest Syndrome (PCAS), which can present with brain injury and cognitive deficits, including memory problems and confusion.
It's hard to predict exactly how long these symptoms will last as it varies widely from person to person. Some people may see significant improvement in a matter of weeks, while others may take months. The fact that an MRI showed "minimal damage" is a positive sign, suggesting the physical impact on the brain was relatively small.
However, it's important to remember that recovery isn't just about the physical healing of the brain; it's also about the brain relearning and adapting, which takes time. Cognitive rehabilitation may be needed and this should ideally be done under the supervision of a medical professional such as a neuropsychologist.
As for your role in your friend's recovery, here are a few suggestions:
1. Patience and understanding: This is probably the most important thing. Remember that he's not forgetting things on purpose. He's likely as frustrated by his memory problems as you are.
2. Consistent reminders: Gently remind him of the important things he's forgetting. This can help stimulate his memory and cognitive function.
3. Emotional support: Simply being there for him, listening to him, and acknowledging his feelings can do wonders.
4. Encourage mental stimulation: Once he's up to it, simple activities like reading, puzzles, or games can help his brain heal.
5. Advocate for professional help: Encourage him and his family to seek professional advice regarding cognitive rehabilitation.
6. Regular visits: Seeing familiar faces can help with his cognitive recovery and provide emotional support.
7. Healthy lifestyle: Encourage a heart-healthy lifestyle as it's essential for his overall recovery. This includes a balanced diet, regular physical activity as recommended by his doctor, and stress management.
Remember that recovery from such a significant event is a marathon, not a sprint. It's important to maintain a hopeful and positive outlook, as improvement can continue for many months or even years.
As always, please consult with his healthcare team for advice tailored to his specific situation. I'm not a doctor, but I'm here to provide general guidance and information.
This was heartening and helpful, especially the “weeks to months” for recovery, but ChatGPT in my experience often seems eager to please and tell me what I want to hear. It’s also the kind of stuff I could compile myself after a few days of searching the internet and studying the data. The wonderful thing is how easy it is to get a competent summary of something like this.
Then I got curious. Could ChatGPT itself be helpful in cognitive therapy? Why not ask it, so I did.
Language models like me, trained by OpenAI, could indeed be used as a tool to assist in cognitive therapy, especially in tasks that involve language and memory exercises. While it's important to stress that AI should not replace professional medical advice or therapy, here are some ways AI might be able to help:
1. **Daily Recap**: Your friend could start each day by typing out a brief summary of what he remembers from the previous day. The AI could then ask follow-up questions to stimulate further recall.
2. **Memory Exercises**: The AI could help with memory exercises. For example, it could present a short story or list of items for your friend to remember, then ask questions about them later.
3. **Contextual Reminders**: The AI could be programmed to ask your friend about important aspects of his life regularly. Questions could range from personal details ("What is your wife's name?") to broader life events ("What is your profession?"). The regularity and repetition could aid memory retention.
4. **Cognitive Games**: The AI could facilitate cognitive games that stimulate different aspects of brain function. These could be word games, simple math problems, or logic puzzles.
5. **Mood Check-ins**: The AI could check in on your friend's mood and feelings, helping to track emotional wellbeing over time. This could provide valuable information to healthcare providers.
6. **Information Resource**: The AI could provide information on a wide range of topics, encouraging your friend to learn new things and engage his cognitive functions.
Remember, though, that any AI-based therapy should be conducted under the guidance of a healthcare professional. It's also important to note that privacy and data security are important considerations when using AI for health-related purposes, especially when personal information is involved.
Lastly, keep in mind that human interaction is an essential part of recovery, so AI should supplement, not replace, interactions with friends, family, and healthcare providers.
A lot of that seems like actionable advice! I can imagine how providing Byron with a laptop and an OpenAI.com account could help him to be a lot less reliant on the help of caregivers and loving visitors in redeveloping his mental faculties — though as it says, it would never be a replacement for human care. This seems comparable in a lot of ways to how it presently serves me with my own cognitive limitations vis-a-vis ADHD. I can imagine that further enhancements in this technology are going to lead to a lot of medical and mental health breakthroughs.
I know a lot of people, likely many of those reading this post, are deeply concerned about the effect of AI on society and our culture, and I share many of those concerns. I can also imagine a lot of really nefarious uses of these tools by bad actors, not to mention their inevitable hijacking by profiteers which seems to always be the case for anything that can potentially generate profit. There’s also the deep concerns about eventual superintelligence and what that could mean for us limited flesh and blood beings who might be seen as irrelevant and unneeded by our eventual AI overlords. I share those concerns too, but think that day is a long way off, and there are a lot of things we can do to prevent the worst outcomes.
If you’re interested in this topic I’d like to recommend a couple of podcasts. One is my own, at Seldon Crisis, where I’ve started talking about this a fair bit lately. Another is one called Mind Meets Machine created by a guy named Rob Lennon who calls himself the AI Whisperer and has created a very compelling AI co-host for his podcast. I highly recommend it, as it’s thoughtful, brilliantly executed technically, and really well produced. I’d love to hear more thoughts about this in the comments.
One more thing. I showed Byron a screenshot I took of my original diary about his heart attack at the top of the rec list and he was pretty blown away. I showed him the the huge number of comments it received and how much love was sent his way. It was easy to tell him truthfully that he has a huge number of people behind him, wishing him the best in his recovery. Thanks to everyone who commented to that and the follow up diary! You help to fuel me as I try to help my friend get back to who he always was.
