2023-05-30 11:36:49
Aism’s “PortrAIts” exhibition puts the spotlight on the symptoms of the disease, “invisible” to most but revealed through images generated by AI based on the description made by those affected
«A ghost, a tree at the mercy of the wind. Confused, not knowing where to turn. He suddenly happens: I no longer remember what I did in the previous hours and days, I find myself sitting, as if closed in a bubble where everything is muffled, and I find it hard to understand who I am». Memory that fades, inexorably, is one of the “invisible” symptoms of multiple sclerosis. Ivan Cottini, 38, “the dancer in a wheelchair” describes it like this. And an artificial intelligence program transforms those words into the image of Ivan, split in half by a tree that emerges from the top of his head, the foliage now without leaves.
Ivan’s is just one of ten “digital portraits” of as many people with MS, chosen by aism as testimonial of the «PortrAIts» campaign which is part of the activities promoted for the National Multiple Sclerosis Information Week from 29 May to 6 June. On May 30, on the occasion of the World multiple sclerosis day centered on the theme of «connection», the exhibition will be inaugurated as World Multiple Sclerosis Day, in Rome in Piazza San Silvestro and in Milan in Via Dante.
Italians don’t know the hidden side of MS
The exhibition arises from a need that clearly emerged from theDoxa survey for Aism conducted in the first months of 2023 on a representative sample of the Italian population: Italians have a superficial knowledge of the disease and do not know its impact on people’s lives. In fact, although almost all of the public opinion (98%) knows MS, at least by hearsay, and over 80% know that it is a neurological disease, the level of information is uneven with respect to the symptoms.
The visible symptoms are well known to the population, such as difficulty in movement (93%), lack of coordination (90%) and loss of strength (89%), while invisible symptoms are unknown to most, such as memory loss (24%), depression (34%), visual disturbances (36%) and difficulty concentrating (37%). Still, 60% of respondents believe that people with MS inevitably develop severe disabilities and that the disease cannot be cured with drugs. «The exhibition aims to fill this knowledge gap and raise public awareness of invisible symptoms of multiple sclerosis. Through the testimonies of people with MS and the use of artificial intelligence to generate images that represent their symptoms, with the exhibition we wanted to communicate in a powerful and exciting way what people with multiple sclerosis experience on a daily basis” he explains Francesco Vaccanational president of Aism.
Technological innovation at the service of patients
For Aism and Fism, its foundation, the use of AI even for more strictly purposes is not an absolute novelty. «Aism has always, through its Fism Foundation, promotes the use of technologies to improve disease management and people’s quality of life with MS. Examples are the Italian Multiple Sclerosis and Related Pathologies Registry and the progetto Barcoding MS – an integrated database of clinical data, genetics, imaging and patient measurements which will provide a personalized picture of the clinical progression and biology of the disease -, and also developing an app which allows self-assessment and monitoring of cognitive functions of people with multiple sclerosis. And again the participation in the European Alameda project, which uses AI to bridge the gap between early diagnosis and therapeutic treatment in neurological diseases. With PortrAIts we wanted to demonstrate that Ai, if used virtuouslycan also help in communication, to give a new voice to people with MS», says Mario Alberto Battaglia, president of Fism.
What is multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis it is one of the most serious diseases of the central nervous system and affects largely at a young age – 50% of people with MS are not yet 40 years old – women twice as many as men. In Italy there are about 140,000 people who live with this disease: every year there are 3,600 new diagnoses, 1 every 3 hours. A condition that destabilizes people’s lives and can make even small daily actions insurmountable challenges, difficulties that those who do not experience the disease cannot understand because they do not see. PortrAIts was born from the story of 10 people with multiple sclerosis who generously made very intimate and personal aspects of their history of illness available to the community. An Artificial Intelligence program listens to them who, together with communication professionals, reworked their words generating surprising images, far from the reality visible to the eyes, but close to the actual feeling of those living with MS.
«In recent months there has been a lot of talk about Artificial Intelligence, its limits and the opportunities it offers. The term artificial intelligence (AI) instinctively leads us to make a comparison with human intelligence. It would be a mistake to think that AI can now replace human intelligence and capabilities, it is more of a supplement or support for specific activities. The most used AI algorithms help in classification, decision making and, as in PortrAIts, in content generation. This exhibition is an example of the virtuous use of generative artificial intelligence», he underlines Ivano Eberini, associate professor of Biochemistry at the University of Milan.
National Information Week
Here are the main institutional events •May 30 World Multiple Sclerosis Day: main Italian monuments illuminated in red • May 30 inauguration of the PortrAIts exhibition at 11:00 in Rome in piazza San Silvestro and in Milan in via Dante, 6 • May 30 – June 1 – Congresso annuale Fism: «Connecting MS and Related Disorders. Our Pathways to Cure».
Annual appointment with the main researchers doing research on multiple sclerosis in Italy. Hotel Villa Pamphili, Rome. Also visible on www.aism.it/congressofism or on the Aism YouTube channel www.youtube.com/sclerosimultipla •May 31st: presentation of the MS barometer, progress of the MS 2025 Agenda and related pathologies, signing of the Bill of Rights by the institutions present. Sala Capitolare – Senate – Piazza della Minerva – Rome •31 May in the afternoon presentation of inclusive tourism project “Independent life does not go on vacation”ENIT – National Tourism Agency – Via Marghera, Rome .
May 30, 2023 (change May 30, 2023 | 11:36 am)
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