You might have heard of artificial general intelligence (AGI), a field of theoretical AI aimed at matching or surpassing human cognitive capabilities. Clearly, that’s the endgame for all of the companies who are pursuing AI and will inevitably doom us all with some sort of Skynet equivalent. But one company is looking into a decidedly different kind of AGI that would, at least in theory, be good for human health instead of, well, damning us to AI-powered machine overlords.
Enter Throne, an Austin, Texas-based startup that wants to use “artificial gut intelligence” (emphasis ours) to power a camera that clips onto your toilet seat to examine your poop. Yes, you read that right.
According to Throne, the AI has been “trained by physicians to help you understand what your waste is trying to tell you about your health” by looking for various signs of health found in waste matter. The camera takes pictures of the inside of the toilet, including your poop, and will display relevant information about your health (or lack thereof) in a companion app.
Of course, a camera that takes pictures inside of a toilet raises several questions, particularly those pertaining to privacy. For one, the camera will only look downward, so you don’t have to worry about snapshots of your butt. On top of that, Throne says all images are anonymized and not shared with third-party companies. The startup posted a “privacy and security” page after TechCrunch inquired about its approach to privacy.
As(s) it stands, Throne is currently beta testing its ‘Gut Health & Hydration Tracker,’ with $299 USD (about $413 CAD) pre-orders only open to the U.S. for now. Perhaps enough Americans will get down and dirty with the product that it makes its way to Canada and other countries in the future.
Image credit: Throne
Via: TechCrunch
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