Dire Warning Issued to Anyone Using AI 'Death Calculator'
In the past, individuals curious about their life expectancy would often rely on familial longevity, speculate on the impact of various vices highlighted in the news, and arrive at an estimate that was as good as any guess.
However, in today's digital age, this task has been taken up by technology, specifically a "Death Calculator" developed by Danish researchers. This innovative tool employs artificial intelligence to make informed estimates about life expectancy.
Living in an era where online deception is rampant, there are now imitative apps that mimic the original Death Calculator. This has caused concern among the creators at Life2vec, who invested years refining their AI tool, as reported by Metro.
The researchers caution against fraudulent activities, emphasizing that these scammers are not associated with their genuine work. They advise users to exercise caution.
The creators of the authentic Death Calculator emphasize that the actual data is not accessible online but is securely stored at Statistics Denmark.
"We are aware of fraudulent entities claiming to use our technology, but we are not affiliated with them," the AI creators stated.
The Death Calculator operates on a data-driven model that incorporates various life variables into an algorithm, achieving an accuracy rate of approximately 78%, as reported by Agence France-Presse via Science Alert.
"It's a versatile framework for predicting human life outcomes. It can forecast health conditions, such as fertility, obesity, or even the likelihood of developing cancer. Additionally, it can predict financial success," explained Sune Lehmann, a professor at the Technical University of Denmark and a study co-author.
The algorithm, akin to the one used to develop ChatGPT but focused on life events, factors in aspects like birth, education, social benefits, and work schedules.
Lehmann elaborated, "Lives can be viewed as sequences of events, from birth to various life milestones. Our aim is to analyze the predictability of human life based on these event sequences."
The research primarily focuses on predicting early mortality within a specific age group, using data from 2008 to 2016 to forecast mortality rates for the subsequent four years.
"This model demonstrates exceptional accuracy in predicting mortality compared to other algorithms," Lehmann noted.
He clarified that the research project is not commercialized and is solely for exploration purposes, aiming to understand how social connections influence life outcomes.
Pernille Tranberg, a Danish data ethics expert, highlighted that insurance companies currently use similar calculations for risk assessment.
"They categorize individuals based on factors like chronic diseases to determine insurance premiums or loan eligibility," Tranberg explained. However, she cautioned that such data could lead to discrimination or denial of services.
Tranberg also pointed out the unreliability of some online prediction tools regarding lifespan, advising skepticism when encountering such platforms.