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Apple Researching Ways to Use iPhone Camera to Detect Childhood Autism

So apple made your phone to be your music player, your camera, your movie theater, your wallet. I was ok with all of that. But now they decided your phone should also be your doctor and now soon, your psychiatrist?

Maybe soon they'll have a sensor to detect if you're lonely and Siri will suggest dating sites for you. Or better yet, Siri will transform when it detects loneliness and try to become your one and only friend!
 
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Note to the paranoid among us:

RTFM

"Company is working with UCLA, Biogen to see if sensitive data like facial expressions, typing metrics could signal mental-health concerns"

and...

"Including that and Apple's early work in childhood autism detection, the Journal says that these features may never become a user-end feature, but notes that Apple had invested in multiple heart-focused studies before releasing a host of related features on the Apple Watch."

In other words; NOT coming to an iPhone near you any time soon.
 
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Nicole1980 said:
So apple made your phone to be your music player, your camera, your movie theater, your wallet. I was ok with all of that. But now they decided your phone should also be your doctor and now soon, your psychiatrist?

Maybe soon they'll have a sensor to detect if you're lonely and Siri will suggest dating sites for you. Or better yet, Siri will transform when it detects loneliness and try to become your one and only friend!
Click to expand...
Borderline your parent. But one that makes money out of you.
 
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Unsupported said:
Note to the paranoid among us:

RTFM

"Company is working with UCLA, Biogen to see if sensitive data like facial expressions, typing metrics could signal mental-health concerns"

and...

"Including that and Apple's early work in childhood autism detection, the Journal says that these features may never become a user-end feature, but notes that Apple had invested in multiple heart-focused studies before releasing a host of related features on the Apple Watch."

In other words; NOT coming to an iPhone near you any time soon.
Click to expand...
Sorry, you disqualified yourself in the first sentence by calling customer concerns paranoid. tl;dr
 
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I’m sure others have already made this comment but—for f*cks sake. I’m tired. Have people not been following this website (and/or Apple) long enough to know how many bodies of water they dip their toes in without such results ever reaching the end-user? This is a study that Apple is conducting in partnership with Duke University. Will it ever make it to end-users as an iOS feature? Probably not. Apple learned quite swiftly that there is a boundary with the CSAM scandal. You know where this could be incredibly, extremely useful? Diagnostics by medical professionals who have years of training in diagnostics by a variety of other means—especially for something as (relatively) difficult to diagnose as ASD. If Apple’s technology can help make that process easier, that would be a breakthrough for the medical world as a whole. Not to mention, if this were to be used in a diagnostic setting, all of the HIPAA safeguards already in place (at least in the U.S.) in the medical industry—in addition to iOS 15 focusing on keeping as much processing on-device as possible—minimizing the possibility for any data abuse here.

After 15 years, sometimes I think I just read these comments for the adrenaline boost I need in the morning.
 
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citysnaps said:
Assuming Apple decides to go beyond the research they're apparently conducting, if that should come to fruition as an option for iPad use in years to come, wouldn't you simply choose NOT TO PARTICIPATE?

Why all the drama?
Click to expand...
Agreed, simply opt-out. Or, make it a study that lets you optionally opt-in just in case parents want another opinion, assuming the technology really works. There are many possibilities opening up in this AI realm and this is just the beginning.
 
As a parent to an autistic child, this is largely not useful research as far better/different research is already taking place. I would prefer Apple do other things that would potentially help more:

1. Limit volume control on the device speakers and not just headphones
2. Consider an ASL recognition ML algorithm for the cameras. This can help a typical person interact with a nonverbal person whose primary communication is ASL.
3. Add additional controls on devices for parents of autistic children to drastically limit the apps and choices they have with no means of bypassing.
4. Produce an AAC app (even at a cost) that is more user-friendly and functional

There’s more but that’s enough for now…
 
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nwcs said:
As a parent to an autistic child, this is largely not useful research as far better/different research is already taking place. I would prefer Apple do other things that would potentially help more:

1. Limit volume control on the device speakers and not just headphones
2. Consider an ASL recognition ML algorithm for the cameras. This can help a typical person interact with a nonverbal person whose primary communication is ASL.
3. Add additional controls on devices for parents of autistic children to drastically limit the apps and choices they have with no means of bypassing.
4. Produce an AAC app (even at a cost) that is more user-friendly and functional

There’s more but that’s enough for now…
Click to expand...

Now those are things I think everybody would support (even applaud)

I honestly don’t know how Apple got to be so tone deaf in a few years
 
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They are now talking about this publicly, imagine what companies and governments have already been doing secretly for years already.
I fear apple is trying to do ‘too many things all at once’ now, and because of this none of them will end up well. What direction is this company going?
 
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