Behavior Prediction Using Algorithms IRL :)

Have a Theory? Share It Now!

First off, love the show and appreciate all the hard work you guys to do crank out so much content for us to enjoy. Much of the fun in watching a show like Westworld comes in theorizing and analyzing and your podcast certainly is thought-provoking. Anyway, I wanted to write in because some of the elements on the show remind me of something with which I have some deal of familiarity, although it is used for a much different purpose than anyway it’s used on the show. I am a behavioral psychologist and board certified behavior analyst. I work with young children, adolescents and young adults who are on the autism spectrum and who all exhibit severe aggressive or self-injurious behavior and have history of inpatient hospitalization due to their dangerous behaviors. A great deal of my work is in the identification of the reason or function of their behavior. An ELI-5 summary of what I do is this: I develop interventions to recognize the severe behaviors before they occur and to teach adaptive alternative behaviors to use instead of the dangerous ones. Since all behavior must be observed in order to be recorded and analyzed, our predictions are bound by external variables and visibly observable overt behavior. My colleagues and I are currently conducting a study in which we are utilizing biofeedback recorders to predict these behaviors. These devices look similar to apple watches, and not only do they deliver in vivo data about o2 levels and heart rate to therapists, they also develop algorithms to track and predict the patients behavior. The biofeedback combined with any movements the wearer is making and the order in which those movements occur, maybe some with more intensity than others, etc… algorithms are developed. Behaviors we want to decrease (self injury and aggression) are coded to correspond with specific movements that they involve. The result is a watch that will alert a caregiver, teacher or therapist that the child they are working with is about the engage in a dangerous behavior, and how many times, and with what level of intensity that behavior may occur. It’s remarkable really. This gives us a jump on intervening before the behavior occurs, so we can proactively teach skills at the right time.

The themes surrounding choice and free will on both Westworld and DEVS reminds me so much of what we are doing to help children and their families that have been so deeply affected by autism. I will include a link to the study if you are interested.

Take care and keep up your great work!

Sincerely,
Alison in New England 🙂

https://news.northeastern.edu/2018/04/30/a-northeastern-professors-algorithm-can-predict-outbursts-of-aggression-in-autistic-children/

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