Samsung is exploring new digital well being teaching options primarily based on giant language fashions, or LLMs, as a part of its efforts to embed AI into its most essential merchandise. The transfer can be seen as an effort to fend off rivals together with Google and Apple as they evolve their very own well being trackers and digital assistants.
The initiative entails utilizing an LLM to assist interpret and supply insights about an individual’s well being knowledge, in line with folks accustomed to the matter who requested to not be named as a result of the plans aren’t public. Although a Samsung government spoke publicly earlier this yr about common curiosity in a digital wellness coach and utilizing LLMs to make sense of well being knowledge, the corporate hasn’t but revealed particulars about new merchandise or options primarily based on the know-how.
Samsung declined to remark. The standing of the initiative and the way or if it should seem in a publicly launched product is unclear.
Samsung, the world’s largest smartphone maker by shipments globally, has been including AI options to its Galaxy smartphones, laptops and smartwatches as a part of a push into what its government say is the subsequent period of cellular computing. Samsung’s challenge, together with related efforts by Google and Apple, recommend well being monitoring is the subsequent frontier ripe for an AI-fueled improve. The industry-wide deal with AI additionally coincides with Samsung’s enlargement into the buyer well being house earlier this yr with the introduction of its Galaxy Ring well being tracker, which might passively measure well being metrics out of your finger.
The Galaxy Ring is a companion to the Samsung Well being app.
When requested throughout a CNET interview in January whether or not Samsung was contemplating creating a chatbot or digital assistant particularly for navigating well being knowledge, Hon Pak, vp and head of the digital well being group for the cellular expertise enterprise at Samsung Electronics, did not rule out the likelihood.
He mentioned “the idea” of a digital assistant for navigating and understanding well being context is “going to be crucial” however declined to touch upon particular plans.
“What kind issue that is going to be is to be decided,” mentioned Pak after Samsung’s January Unpacked occasion. “And it could differ primarily based on individual to individual, proper? Some folks simply in all probability need audio; some folks need a video on the TV.”
Pak additionally informed CNBC in February that there is “a digital assistant coach” in Samsung’s future.
Samsung is predicted to supply extra particulars about its imaginative and prescient for well being and wearables throughout its subsequent Unpacked occasion, which in line with experiences from weblog Sam Cellular and Korean newspaper The Chosun Day by day is ready for July 10. Samsung sometimes launches new smartwatches and foldable telephones throughout its summer season Unpacked occasion. If it continues that custom this yr, shoppers can count on to see the Galaxy Ring‘s official debut, alongside new variations of the Galaxy Watch.
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Samsung’s well being coach challenge
The aim behind Samsung’s well being assistant challenge is to supply deeper insights into an individual’s well being knowledge through the use of an LLM to attract insights, in line with the folks accustomed to Samsung’s work. An instance would possibly embrace making observations about an individual’s sleep patterns, corresponding to whether or not they sleep higher after exercising.
Hints of what Samsung is likely to be engaged on appeared on a web site by Hazel Zhang, who, in line with her LinkedIn web page, previously labored as a Samsung interplay designer. Her web site features a proposal for a conversational well being and wellness coach referred to as Thrive, which seems to be completely different from the Thrive app Samsung launched in 2018 as a part of a collaboration with writer and entrepreneur Arianna Huffington.
That older app was designed to assist folks disconnect from their telephones. The challenge described on Zhang’s web site entails answering questions on an individual’s well being knowledge.
After being contacted by CNET, Zhang password-protected the portion of her web site with particulars of the challenge. The web site was publicly accessible on the time of writing.
The fabric on Zhang’s web site, which CNET archived, seems to be a proposal from a number of months in the past and should not replicate Samsung’s plans ought to the challenge proceed. Zhang declined to remark for this story.
Pictures on the web site present an AI assistant answering questions corresponding to, “How was my sleep yesterday?” and proactively asking the consumer in the event that they’re feeling all proper after sleeping poorly. Others present the AI assistant highlighting potential components that might be disrupting sleep, primarily based on an individual’s habits, corresponding to social media utilization earlier than mattress.
Nonetheless different examples of well being insights talked about on Zhang’s web site embrace noting that stress ranges could also be increased when scrolling via social media earlier than mattress, or observing extra restful sleeping patterns when the room is cooler.
As a part of the challenge, Samsung has additionally explored use instances particularly focusing on the aged, in line with Zhang’s web site and one of many folks accustomed to the corporate’s work.
Samsung labored on the LLM-based well being challenge in 2023 and early 2024, in line with two of the folks and Zhang’s web site. The challenge seems to be in early phases and sure would not be launched this yr if it have been to progress, the folks mentioned.
However Samsung might use an LLM to energy one other beforehand introduced well being software launching later this yr, referred to as Vitality Rating, CNET has discovered. Vitality Rating analyzes metrics corresponding to common sleep time, sleep time consistency, earlier day exercise and coronary heart price variability amongst different measurements to find out your present state. Samsung’s press launch concerning the function mentions combining on-device AI with the Samsung Well being app however would not particularly point out the usage of an LLM.
“Samsung is on the trail to constructing a number of the most personalised and safe well being experiences but,” the press launch reads.
These particulars align with the strategy Pak hinted at in his conversations with CNET and CNBC earlier this yr. Within the January interview with CNET, Pak mentioned Samsung’s curiosity to find methods to help caregivers. He additionally mentioned Samsung was exploring varied choices, a few of which can contain partnerships, for a distinct “human laptop interface” when requested about the opportunity of a well being chatbot.
“It might be an entire completely different visible design change versus a digital assistant that is a chatbot versus an avatar,” he mentioned.
Within the dialog with CNBC, Pak mentioned how a big language mannequin might be helpful in crunching several types of knowledge, like medical information and cellular system utilization, to “deliver better insights.”
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AI is enjoying an even bigger function in well being trackers
Samsung’s strategy sounds just like Google’s Fitbit Labs program, introduced final yr. Fitbit customers will have the ability to ask questions, corresponding to why they felt extra drained than standard after a run, prompting Fitbit to check that run with earlier ones to search for adjustments. In March, Google introduced it is creating an LLM designed for private well being that’ll be primarily based on its Gemini AI mannequin and analyze Fitbit knowledge.
In June, Google printed two new analysis papers detailing its work on LLMs and well being knowledge.
An instance displaying the kind of info Fitbit Labs will have the ability to present.
Apple may additionally be engaged on an AI-powered well being coach, in line with Bloomberg. The teaching service would attempt to enhance habits round sleep, train and diet through the use of AI to guage Apple Watch well being knowledge after which create personalised wellness packages, the report says. Final yr, Apple additionally upgraded its voice assistant Siri with the power to reply questions on an Apple Watch consumer’s well being knowledge.
Although Apple did not unveil an AI well being assistant throughout its builders’ convention on June 10, it did announce a number of upgrades to Siri and new Apple Watch well being metrics. Siri will quickly incorporate private context from a consumer’s iPhone into responses, and the Apple Watch will have the ability to present when sure well being knowledge factors measured throughout sleep stray from their norm.
Each adjustments point out that AI brokers and well being monitoring are an enormous a part of Apple’s future product roadmap.
Samsung’s exploration round well being is simply an instance of how gen AI is changing into an even bigger a part of shopper tech gadgets. Ever since OpenAI’s ChatGPT catapulted into the general public eye in November 2022, tech giants have been scrambling to include AI into telephones, laptops, serps, productiveness apps and extra.
AI can also be anticipated to play a bigger function within the well being care {industry} over the subsequent a number of years, with market analysis agency Gartner predicting that generative AI will assist clinicians cut back time spent on scientific documentation duties by 50% by 2027.
The Worldwide Information Company’s US Healthcare Supplier IT Survey additionally discovered that 39.4% of supplier respondents discovered generative AI to be one of many high three applied sciences that may impression well being care within the subsequent 5 years. That very same report, primarily based on a survey from March, signifies that 30.6% of well being care supplier respondents plan to extend general spending on conventional non-generative synthetic intelligence and machine studying.
For shoppers, gen AI might assist health trackers and their accompanying apps present extra exact insights fairly than simply spitting out statistics, mentioned Ramon T. Llamas, a analysis director who research wearables and different cellular gadgets for IDC.
“Do you need to spend the remainder of your time simply gathering descriptive knowledge, [like] your historical past of steps, and coronary heart price and sleep, or do you need to transfer on to the subsequent stage?” Llamas mentioned when requested whether or not wearable-tech corporations will embrace gen AI for well being monitoring functions. He added that Samsung’s expertise incorporating AI into its latest smartphones means it is in all probability outfitted to take action with wearable gadgets and well being apps.
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Samsung is ramping up its well being and AI efforts
Well being and health monitoring has change into a core focus space for Samsung’s Galaxy Watch in recent times.
Samsung has been more and more vocal about AI and well being monitoring initiatives. In January, the corporate shocked audiences at its Unpacked occasion by debuting the Galaxy Ring, a wellness tracker worn on the finger that competes instantly with the favored $299 Oura Ring.
In a Might press launch, Junho Park, vp and head of the Galaxy Ecosystem Product Planning Staff for Samsung’s cellular expertise enterprise, referred to as new Galaxy Watch options like Vitality Rating “only the start.”
Samsung has already labored with health-oriented LLMs, although these efforts aren’t meant to be used in shopper merchandise and as an alternative are aimed on the well being care {industry}. Harman, a subsidiary of Samsung, introduced a big language mannequin referred to as HealthGPT final October that it is positioning as a software for “healthcare professionals, researchers and establishments.”
In its Interim Enterprise Report for the quarter that led to March, the corporate additionally pointed to its Samsung Well being platform as an space of development.
“Samsung Well being will strengthen its place as a complete well being administration platform via new kind components and AI options,” the doc says.
Relating to its general gen AI technique, Samsung began off 2024 by unveiling Galaxy AI, a set of AI-powered options for its Galaxy telephones that may deal with duties like modifying photographs, translating calls in actual time and rewriting textual content messages. The corporate plans to “additional optimize” its Galaxy AI options for upcoming foldable gadgets this yr, Gained-Joon Choi, head of the analysis and growth workplace for Samsung’s Cellular Expertise enterprise, mentioned in a June weblog submit.
“AI is sort of permeating via completely different sides of individuals’s lives,” mentioned Llamas, the cellular {industry} analyst. “And it isn’t going to cease.”
