Daytime naps could be key to fit and healthy aging argues a new book.
“iMind” by Professor Elmasry gives the upper hand over artificial intelligence to human and gives tips for keeping the brain healthy. It lays emphasis on memory exercises, living healthy, with a call for policy reforms which would foster cognitive longevity.
A top Canadian academic has made the argument that people can cut the risk of age-related dementia by exercising their brains properly, rather than going onto Google.
According to Professor Mohamed I. Elmasry, very easy daily habits such as afternoon naps, memory ‘workouts’, and not going for a smartphone can greatly increase the odds of healthy aging.
The Power of Real Intelligence Over AI
His new book, iMind: Artificial and Real Intelligence, with a foreword by Canadian cell biologist Dr. Aileen Burford-Mason, says the focus has swung too far away from RI – natural or real – intelligence in favour of AI, or machine or artificial intelligence. Instead, Elmasry has called on us to nurture our human minds, which are also equipped with ‘hardware’, ‘software’, and ‘apps’, but which are many times more powerful – and will last much longer with the right care.
The book was inspired, in part, by the death of his brother-in-law from Alzheimer’s and others very close to him, including his mother, from other forms of dementia, according to Professor Elmasry, who is also an internationally recognized expert in microchip design and AI.
Lifespan and Utility of the Human Mind vs. Smartphones
He does concede that they are ‘getting smarter all the time,’ but claims in iMind that none matches, or is even close to, ‘duplicating the capacity, storage, longevity, energy efficiency, or self-healing capabilities of the original human brain-mind.’
He says: “The useful life expectancy for current smartphones is about 10 years; for a healthy brain-mind inside a healthy human body: 100 years or more.”.
“Your brain-mind is the highest-value asset you have, or will ever have. Grow its potential and longevity by taking early care of it and keeping your body and it healthy so that it can continue to grow.
How to Boost Memory and Intelligence with Very Simple Practices”
“Humans can purposively develop and test their memories through playing ‘brain games’ or doing exercises for the brain. You cannot exercise a memory for your smartphone to make it last longer or do better.”
On the same note, in iMind: Artificial and Real Intelligence, Professor Elmasry narrates an experience when his grandchildren had to resort to the search in the smartphone to identify the capital of Cuba—the children had just returned from a one-week visit to Cuba with their parents.
The story, he says, epitomizes how the young generation has come to rely on AI smartphone apps as opposed to using their RI. In his view, “A healthy memory goes hand in hand with real intelligence; our memory simply can’t reach its full potential without it.”
Historical Background and Current Challenges of AI
Available in hardback, published by Routledge, iMind: Artificial and Real Intelligence includes extensive background on the history of microchip design, machine learning, and AI and their role in smartphones and other technology.
The book also explains how both AI and human intelligence really work, and how brain function links the mind and memory. It compares the human mind and brain function with that of smartphones, ChatGPT, and other AI-based systems.
iMind draws on rigorous existing research to bridge the knowledge gap between real and artificial intelligence, to address today’s controversy of AI, and to inspire researchers for new treatments of Alzheimer’s, other neurodegenerative conditions, and cancer.
Healthy Ageing Advocacy and Policy Changes
It argues that current, or even planned, AI cannot begin to match the human brain-mind for speed, accuracy, and storage capacity among other functions. Healthy aging is as important as climate change, notes Professor Elmasry, but it does not attract a fraction of the publicity.
He appeals to policymakers to implement a number of key reforms to foster healthy aging. Allowing bingo halls to transform from sedentary entertainment to active and stimulating learning centers could be one such reform, he proposes.
Actionable Insights on Increasing Actual Intelligence
Besides napping to refresh our memories and other brain and body functions, he furnishes a series of practical tips that can help increase one’s brain power and RI—Real Intelligence.
These include building up ‘associative’ memory – the brain’s ‘dictionary of meaning’ where it attaches new information to what it already knows. Try reading a book aloud, engaging all of your senses instead of going on autopilot and turning daily encounters into fully-lived experiences.
Other strategies include the addition of at least one pure rest day into the week, re-examining the way of life during one’s 20s or 30s, eating healthily, and avoiding or severely limiting alcohol to reduce the risk of dementia.
Reference: “iMind: Artificial and Real Intelligence” by Mohamed I. Elmasry.
DOI: 10.1201/9781003486848
Read More News – Click Here