[SkyPuncher]

I actually ran a health tech startup in this space within the past decade.

It’s basically a no go market. Patients don’t have the funds themselves. Those that do simply hire a dedicated, private staff.

Children don’t want to pay for it since they view it as there parent’s expense.

Everyone views it as a cost that the healthcare system should cover - even though there isn’t money for it.

[hn_throwaway_99]

Your response makes sense to me, but it also highlights why I've become so disillusioned with "tech" generally over the course of my 25 year career.

My optimism about tech used to be because I saw tech as solving humanities most pressing needs (even if it usually has unintended consequences like pollution, etc.) But now I see tech (most of the time, obviously I'm speaking in broad generalities) as not even bothering with pressing problems because you can make more money hijacking dopamine pathways to sell ads.

I mean, when I think of tech that would actually improve my life I think about things like a clothes-folding machine, not a program that writes mediocre poetry.

[dingnuts]

> think of tech that would actually improve my life I think about things like a clothes-folding machine,

I think about this constantly, and it's a funny example because apparently the math involved for figuring out how to fold clothes is basically an unsolved problem. As I understand it the robotics -- also a very hard unsolved problem -- are the easy part, which should emphasize how horribly hard this problem is.

Several other things: 1) I recently saw a LinkedIn lunatic claim laundry was already automated, because laundry machines exist (way to out yourself as someone who never helps with laundry)

> mediocre poetry

2) I refuse to call language models "intelligence" until they can at least meaningfully contribute to the design of novel devices like the robots we are discussing. If it can't invent, it's not intelligent! Intelligent things are capable of novelty, not only regurgitating existing witnessed patterns.