Nokia Bell Labs and Equideum Health to develop blockchain-based cognitive augmentation

Equideum Health has partnered with Nokia Bell Labs to research cognitive augmentation using blockchain combined with AI and edge devices such as earpieces, smartwatches, and home devices.

The joint applied research agenda would be on how they would approach the ethics, identity, cybersecurity, and compliance challenges concerning edge data on all devices, including earables and other remote telemetry devices currently being used, according to Heather Flannery, CEO of Equideum Health.

Nokia has created an earable — a wearable ear gadget with a microphone and speaker – that can utilize on-device machine learning to assist individuals in understanding and responding to the environment around them.

This type of device receives a wide range of very private data, which raises several ethical concerns.

Flannery noted that the concern is whether a guardian or legal representative might opt-in to share data that the patient would not agree to if they were capable of making the decision themself. That’s especially where financial incentives are involved.

She added that they bring improvements in transparency, audio, privacy, and cybersecurity. Improvements over baseline versus further infringement or compromise on the agency and empowerment of the individual.

There have been numerous reports in the media of people in care being mistreated or ignored. Most care facilities contain sensors and monitors, which are also IoT devices,

in addition to wearables. The Equideum Foundation's director, Dr. Pierre Vigilance, pointed out that better data management could assist individuals to get better care.