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10_V1_WAT_Aug31 Project and event made possible by: FR EE /O PE N T O TH E P UB LIC TH EG AS LIG HT co nd os .CA T H E G A S L I G H T D I S T R I C T P R E S E N T S 64 GRAND AVE. CAMBRIDGE / FORMER SOUTHWORKSOUTLET MALL 10 • WATERLOO CHRONICLE • Thursday, August 31, 2017 Serving your community since 1856 Continued from page 5 A person with Alzheimer's is often considered to be sick and to be weak, but in the past they could've been in a position of power, like a CEO of a company. As the disease progresses, they might not understand their cur- rent situation, but focused on the past and still think they're a CEO that is in charge. The virtual assistant would be able to pick up on that through signals, such as body posture, facial expression, tone of voice and speed of activity, and know how to address a person in a way they'll be receptive to. "If they feel powerful, the assis- tant will treat them in a more deferential way, saying 'yes sir, you take me to the washroom and show me how to wash your hands,'" Hoey said. "Whereas if they're in a sick patient state, the assistant will give cues that are more imperative, 'OK, it's time to wash your hands now.'" Along with physical tasks, Hoey is developing the virtual assistant to help people with Alzheimer's complete mental and physical activities and manage symptoms. It could, for example, prompt a person to continue working on a crossword puzzle or painting a picture, or help them navigate a walk. The system would be customiz- able, so caregivers can set up sen- sors where their patient is strug- gling the most, and then add or change the settings in the future. "Let's put the power in the hands of the care partner and give them the tools to build the assistant systems for themselves," Hoey said, recognizing it's a lot to ask of people who might not be technologically savvy, or have a lot of free time, so it will have to be simplified and user friendly. "They're already stretched to the limit and there's a lot of emo- tional overload going on." The virtual assistant could also help people with Down syndrome, dementia and traumatic brain injuries. Hoey and his team recently received two awards for a paper in American Sociological Review that presents some of the core ideas of the project. The awards were for most significant paper of social psychology and mathematical sociology. Virtual assistant will be able to adapt to challenging situations "I am trying to tackle the hard problem in AI -- what is human intelligence? What makes us tick?" Prof. Jesse Hoey University of Waterloo computer scientist on how he's developing an AI system to help people with Alzheimer's disease