Seattle-based AI start-up aims to help with cognitive decline

NewDays co-founder and CEO, Babak Parviz, joined Steve McCarron in KOMO's Arc Lounge for a deep conversation about innovations in cognitive decline and AI.

Therapy and technology teaming up to help people struggling with memory loss and other cognitive concerns. A startup out of Seattle aims to help people by using AI. KOMO's Natalie Founday caught up with a Seattle startup behind NewDays.

At its core, the technology aims to keep people's minds active. The CEO of it says it's like physical therapy, but for your brain.

"Tell me, what was a recent moment that made you smile?"

You just heard Sunny, the name of AI technology used to chat with people facing or concerned about cognitive decline.

"In best cases, we can push back the symptoms of the disease, and I think that's really important because people really care about their ability to remember things. People really care about their ability to reason."

Babak Parviz is the CEO and co-founder of the company called NewDays AI. He's the former vice president of Amazon and founded Google Glass among other things. Now, he's working on this startup, something he says was not possible just three years ago.

"But more recently, we went through an inflection point in the ability of the technology to do things that are very powerful, very new, so now we can actually deploy this."

The startup has launched in four states: Washington, California, Florida, and Texas. Like you heard earlier, it has basic conversations but also challenges users with puzzles to keep their minds active.

"So here's how it works. I'll say two simple words and your job is to remember those words and make a sentence or two with them."

Its reach can be extremely large. The Alzheimer's Association estimates that seven million Americans are living with the disease today. Parviz says the neuropsychological techniques used are based off several clinical trials that he calls the gold standard of medicine.

"In a sense, it's a poster child of the good we can do with this new generation of AI."

Parviz says customers who have used the technology already report feeling better. For his full interview, you can visit the KOMO TV website.