If I were to ask you to name the planets of the solar system in order, could you do it? If you are of a “certain age”, the answer would probably be positive. I remember having to learn them at school by reciting them for what seemed like hours on end. If you want to test your memory, stick your head out of the window tomorrow evening around dusk, and you’ll see six planets in a straight line in the sky, when there is a rare planetary alignment above the UK. These days, of course, there is no need for children to learn the order of these planets. Google can tell them in an instant. The offloading of the need to remember things to an online system means we are not always exercising our mental muscle of memory.
Added to this is the idea that as we age, our memory starts to falter. That’s not strictly true. It is partly reinforced by a social belief in which we stop actively trying to remember things because “there is no point,” assuming we’ll forget them as we age. We remember less as we get older, partly because we actively stop trying to store memories. Though it is true that the speed of cognitive processing does decline.
However, in the AI-enhanced world of the future, we are going to need our memories more, not less. To interpret what AI is telling us, we will need higher levels of analytical thinking. And that depends on memory. You can’t analyse the output of ChatGPT, for instance, if you can’t remember anything that will help you counter what the AI is telling you. For example, AI can surface data. It cannot supply lived experience. It cannot recall the failed strategy from 2009, the 2013 regulatory fine, or the cultural backlash from 2018. Only human memory can do that.
Enter then, the world of the “SuperAger”. These are elderly people with remarkable memories who can recall things much more easily than people 50 years younger can. In a study published this week in the scientific journal Nature, researchers at the University of Chicago have discovered a significant finding about older people with great memories.
These “SuperAgers” are producing new nerve cells in an area of the brain known to be involved in memory formation. People with poor memories tend to lose brain cells. Back at the start of the 20th Century it was widely believed that we are born with a fixed number of brain cells and that new ones could not be made. We now know that is not true. Thirty years ago, we discovered that our brains are capable of “neurogenesis”, in which new brain cells can be created at any time in our lives.
If we are to make the most of artificial intelligence without being controlled by it, we will need brains that remain capable of renewal. We will need to have “SuperAger” capabilities of storing memories so that we can interpret AI effectively. So, what do you need to do to make sure your brain continues to develop?
It turns out, like many things to do with human biology, to be remarkably simple. Research shows that there are just a few things we need to do to improve our memory by encouraging neurogenesis. These are getting more exercise and reducing stress. Being social, rather than isolated, is also a key factor.
These are also the activities that reduce the risk of heart disease and long-term conditions such as diabetes. And guess what, those health issues are also linked to poor neurogenesis. It is almost as if the body is an interconnected set of systems that require “healthy living” practices to function properly. Who knew? Well, neuroscientists at Harvard, for a start, who five years ago proposed a new field of healthcare called “preventative neurology”.
Our brains are capable of so much more if only we cared for them to encourage neurogenesis. It is surprisingly simple to achieve that – live a healthy, social life.
The chances are some people will have forgotten the order of the planets because some of their brain cells have disconnected due to a lack of use. We cannot allow that to happen in the AI future. Otherwise, your business will be led by artificial intelligence, rather than you and your colleagues. Artificial intelligence will not take control of your business. But intellectual laziness might allow that. In an AI world, cognitive fitness is no longer optional. It is a leadership responsibility.
