Elevate your Health with AI

Chapter 1

My journey into the world of health and AI did not come from a place of academic interest, but from personal necessity. During my teenage years, I experienced a sudden onset of troubling symptoms: severe fatigue, brain fog, and an inability to tolerate exercise. These symptoms baffled every doctor I saw. Each visit typically ended with dismissive remarks, suggesting my symptoms might be psychological or simply unexplainable. This medical gaslighting, and the frustrating experience with an indifferent, unindividualized, healthcare system fueled my resolve to find a better way.
Without clear answers from doctors, I took to the internet, poring over forums, medical websites, and symptom checkers. This approach, driven more by desperation than hope, usually left me more confused. However, my interest in new technology presented a novel path. At that time, I was playing around with OpenAI’s GPT-3 model, mainly to understand emerging technologies. This casual experimentation soon turned into a focused application on medical literature and symptom data, harnessing AI’s powerful text generation abilities.
While my self-guided AI exploration didn’t lead directly to my diagnosis, it laid the groundwork for what would later become HealthGPT+. My eventual diagnosis of Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) came from a suggestion by a friend and was confirmed at the Mayo Clinic. This diagnosis was not just a relief but also a validation of my belief that AI could be leveraged to help others in similar situations.
Understanding the potential of AI to democratize access to health, I envisioned a tool beyond a traditional symptom checker that can recommend one of maybe 100 diseases. With the advent of GPT-4, which was significantly better at handling medical information with near-expert precision, I saw an opportunity to create something groundbreaking. HealthGPT+ would be more than just a database of information; it would simulate the reasoning of a seasoned doctor, with the ability to diagnose nearly any disease. If it had been mentioned on the internet, gpt-4 could diagnose it.
The development of HealthGPT+ aimed to capture the diagnostic reasoning, and hypothesis evaluation that you would find in a medical consultation. This tool wouldn’t just provide generic health advice but would engage in a dynamic conversation with users, asking follow-up questions, debating its hypotheses, and refining its final responses. The goal was to equip users with not just answers but reasoned, understandable medical insights, similar to having a doctor assist them in navigating their symptoms and concerns.
Despite the initial promise and the empowering feedback from early users, introducing HealthGPT+ into the healthcare landscape wasn’t without challenges. The medical community, in particular, was skeptical and harsh. Many doctors viewed HealthGPT+ as a competitor rather than a complementary tool. The general perception was that I aimed to replace doctors, whereas my true intent was to supplement the existing medical process (until AI is smart enough), offering a tool for users who, like myself, felt dismissed by traditional methods. Any doctor who truly cared about patients, supported my mission of patient empowerment.
Additionally, the legal implications of providing AI-driven medical advice were daunting. These challenges, combined with my commitment to keep HealthGPT+ as a free service, eventually led me to pause the project. However, this decision was not the end but a pivot. The foundational principles and technological advancements of HealthGPT+ have since been integrated into my new venture, Formulai. In this venture, the focus has shifted to personalized wellness, using AI not for diagnosing and managing diseases but for enhancing individual health through biohacking and performance optimization.
Reflecting on the journey of HealthGPT+, it was much more than a project; it was a profound exploration of what AI can achieve in healthcare. The experiences, both the setbacks and successes, have deeply informed my ongoing work. They have reinforced my commitment to leveraging AI for the betterment of individual health care. As I look to the future, the mission remains clear: to empower individuals with innovative tools that allow them to take charge of their health in ways previously unimaginable.
In essence, this book is about taking control of our health, especially with a healthcare system that seems more focused on treating diseases rather than preventing them or optimizing our wellbeing. Traditional healthcare systems are often profit-driven, arguably making money when we are sick. Through the power of AI, we can change this narrative and take proactive steps toward better health. Welcome to a journey where technology meets wellness, and where you can be the main driver of your health.