{"id":24664,"date":"2018-12-05T11:36:25","date_gmt":"2018-12-05T11:36:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digileaders.com\/?p=24664"},"modified":"2019-05-08T14:46:32","modified_gmt":"2019-05-08T13:46:32","slug":"ai-and-the-secret-life-of-men","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/digileaders.com\/ai-and-the-secret-life-of-men\/","title":{"rendered":"AI and the secret life of men"},"content":{"rendered":"

The latest Harry\u2019s masculinity report contains startling findings about what it means to be a man in the UK in 2019. Its data has been collected by a bot deployed by London \u2018intelligently artificial\u2019 studio Us Ai. Co-founder Pete Trainor says machines used wisely can guide us to a more positive future.<\/p>\n

Seven billion people are walking this planet, technology has made us more connected than ever but are we in the midst of an epidemic of loneliness? According to a study powered by a bot from Us Ai, that could well be the case \u2013 at least among men.<\/p>\n

In a groundbreaking piece of research conducted by\u00a0Us Ai\u00a0<\/a>on behalf of men\u2019s grooming brand\u00a0Harry\u2019s<\/a>, a bot (pictured below<\/em>) was deployed to speak with men across the UK freely, and anonymously about what keeps them awake at night, what they worry about, what makes them feel lonely, as well as attitudes to masculinity, wellbeing (by a different label) and happiness. The results, published last month, have been startling.<\/p>\n

As journalist and Harry\u2019s ambassador Martin Daubney reported,\u201cwith 59% of respondents suggesting they\u2019d like to talk further to a bot about their mental health, Ai-powered services could be the key to unlocking men, historically that most stubborn of demographics, and build a bridge into the real-world care network.<\/p>\n

\u201cRather than patronisingly insist men to \u2018talk more\u2019, then blame them when they don\u2019t, the bot has shown that perhaps it\u2019s time to change how \u2013 and where \u2013 we listen to men. Rather than expect men to self-present at their GPs and talk face to face, perhaps we need to take the conversation to them, via technology we know they are already comfortable with,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n

While many men who spoke with the bot had never spoken to a person about their issues because they found it too invasive, when they spoke with the bot they had plenty to say.<\/p>\n

In fact, more than 2,000 men between the ages of 18 and 88 came forward and responded, safe in the knowledge they weren\u2019t being judged, and that they were contributing to something potentially profound. Participants included builders, designers, company directors, doctors, teachers and barristers. Their replies were in parts heartfelt, sad, angry and bewildered.<\/p>\n

The study has unearthed ramifications about the distance between where some men in the UK are, and where they want to be to add value to society. In some cases it\u2019s a gulf to cross. Less connection \u2013 the real kind \u2013 means that some men aren\u2019t able to build relationships as strong as they could be, nor are they able to maintain them as well as they need too.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not to suggest they\u2019re a lost cause; far from it. What has become apparent through the study is just how much hope for change is present in society, if we can use technology to broker a better space to communicate.<\/p>\n

We were looking almost exclusively at the sentiment and themes in what people were saying. We have no desire at all to exploit people\u2019s fears or weaknesses with this tech, just help change the narrative around the topics that lead to mental health complications. To give people coping strategies for surviving the changes of an ever-changing world.<\/p>\n

What also emerged in the findings is that, despite many people being in relationships, and having broad friendship groups and networks, they still feel lonely. Men who said they were single went on to have much lower life satisfaction scores (across all ages and demographics) than the men who told the bot they were married or in a relationship.<\/p>\n

That is troubling to say the least. Even the NHS acknowledges that people who experience loneliness for prolonged periods of time show health impacts that may be as significant as smoking every day, or being obese. Then there is of course the direct link between loneliness and poor mental health.<\/p>\n

Further probing of the data also validated that loneliness isn\u2019t just associated with being alone. Many of the most tragic comments that the bot received came from men who appear to be surrounded by others, married and often well-connected socially.<\/p>\n

It seems what we\u2019re looking at is a problem with quality rather than the number of relationships that people have. A person may have many friends but still find that their needs for social contact are not met.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t see Ai being able to solve that\u00a0per se<\/i>, but I do see it playing a role in helping people make sense of it. It\u2019s about doing better things, not things better, and by that we mean we\u2019ve got technology pouring out of every pore now. Social media isn\u2019t the answer, because it doesn\u2019t make us more sociable. So machines that can start to understand us, and guide us towards positive outcomes feels like the only way we can move forward.<\/p>\n

The good news is, we now have the technology to gather the proof points we need to show what kind of interventions might be \u2018needed\u2019.<\/p>\n

Whilst the crisis among men and women is showing no signs of going away, and negative technology is not about to move aside. It seems that studies such as this one might help change the narrative about what needs to be done to support is better. We\u2019ve inserted so much technology between people, it\u2019s now easier to communicate through the screen, than face-to-face. Which is tragic, but also a reality which we must be able to use to our advantage, And as the technology matures and hardens, it equips society with better tools to reach the most vulnerable amongst us.<\/p>\n

\n

Originally posted here<\/a><\/p>\n

More thought leadership <\/i><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The latest Harry\u2019s masculinity report contains startling findings about what it means to be a man in the UK in 2019. Its data has been collected by a bot deployed by London \u2018intelligently artificial\u2019 studio Us Ai. Co-founder Pete Trainor says machines used wisely can […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":24665,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-24664","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","region-london","topic-ai","topic-research"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAI and the secret life of men | Digital Leaders<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Technology has made us more connected but are we facing an epidemic of loneliness? 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