IBM and the University of California San Diego have launched an artificial intelligence project aimed at boosting the quality of life and independence for aging populations.

The partners have opened an Artificial Intelligence for Healthy Living Center on the campus of UC San Diego to bring together the technology, AI and life sciences knowledge for research into healthy aging.

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They plan to develop technologies to further achieve the potential of AI and to boost cognitive health, which, in turn, will enable people to live independently longer and have a higher quality of life.

The project also aims to better understand the health implications of the human microbiome – the microbes that live in the human body.

The team will develop and employ machine learning algorithms for sensing, understanding, modeling, personalizing and informing.

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The initiative will bring together researchers in computer science, engineering and medicine, including psychiatry. Over five years, researchers will study the impact a combination of daily habits, the environment, genetics and the microbiome have on the cognition of older adults. The goal: enabling older adults to live independently longer and have a higher quality of life.

“We’re committed to collaborating with the best minds in academia to inspire the next generation of scientists by providing access to leading-edge AI tools and expertise to solve real problems that impact human lives,” John Kelly III, IBM senior vice president, Cognitive Solutions and IBM Research, said in a statement.

Co-directors of the Artificial Intelligence for Healthy Living Center will be Ruoyi Zhou and Ho-Cheol Kim from IBM; and Tajana Rosing, a faculty member in the Jacobs School of Engineering’s Computer Science and Engineering Department, and Rob Knight, a faculty member in the Department of Pediatrics and Computer Science and Engineering and director of the UC San Diego Center for Microbiome Innovation.

Twitter: @Bernie_HITN
Email the writer: bernie.monegain@himssmedia.com