The Dialogue
After experiencing The Centre for Preventive Care, visitors were encouraged to engage in reflection, both with us and with each other, focusing on the following questions:
- How much data would you share in return for personalized health advice?
- Would you want to know your future health risks if you could?
- How would you feel about an AI being your health care provider?
- How much of your lifestyle would you be willing to sacrifice for perfect health?
These questions sparked fascinating, deep, and diverse dialogues, highlighting a range of perspectives. Many participants noted that they hadn’t thought about these questions before and that the experience prompted them to envision potential consequences of technologies that we already see around us today.
Reactions varied widely. Some felt hopeful, while others expressed fear. Some were entirely open to having an AI as their doctor, while others held reservations. There were those who appreciated the efficiency and anonymity of the process, contrasting with those who found it impersonal. Opinions differed on knowing health risks, with some eager to learn everything and others wishing to know nothing. The matter of making substantial lifestyle changes also generated diverse responses, including the view that perfect health could involve the choice to be unhealthy.
Most people expressed the desire for personal autonomy in determining the extent of lifestyle adjustments for healthier living, with strong feelings against external control from the government over such decisions.
The diverse array of pills also acted as conversation starters about diseases tied to lifestyle and lesser-known preventive measures. Discussions touched on topics like health risks associated with involuntary loneliness, the positive impact of nature on health, the role of the microbiome in connection to diseases, and genetic links to behaviors like risk-taking and sweet preferences. Concepts such as microbiome transplants and their potential to alter personality were discussed, stemming from research papers that informed the project.
At times, conversations expanded to a systemic level, delving into rising healthcare costs, lifestyle-related diseases, our aging population, the future of staffing, and the potential priorities we might have to make because of this. The installation successfully fostered thought-provoking dialogues that explored various dimensions of healthcare’s future.
Curious to explore these questions for yourself?
Go to Take a Stand.