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AI Medicine

Gates Funds $1 Million AI Alzheimer's Prize (ft.com) 59

Posted by msmash from the moving-forward dept.
Bill Gates is funding a $1 million competition to spur the use of AI to find innovative treatments for Alzheimer's disease, the latest effort to deploy the promising technology to find cures for humanity's toughest illnesses. From a report: The Alzheimer's Insights AI prize will be awarded to the team that comes up with the most original way to program AI-powered agents that are "capable of independent planning, reasoning, and action to accelerate breakthrough discoveries from existing Alzheimer's data."

 The winning tool will be released for free on the Alzheimer's Disease Data Initiative's cloud "workbench" to be used by scientists globally, the organisation said on Tuesday. The prize is being financed by Gates Ventures, the family office of the billionaire philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder.
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Gates Funds $1 Million AI Alzheimer's Prize More

Gates Funds $1 Million AI Alzheimer's Prize

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  • Only $1M? (Score:3)

    by registrations_suck ( 1075251 ) on Tuesday August 19, 2025 @11:03AM (#65599772)

    Seems kinda low.

  • The LLM solution to Alzheimer's disease is just to train people to always pretend like they have a deep understanding of every conceivable topic before the dementia sets in, so that their blithe confidence after the dementia sets in fools people into thinking they don't have Alzheimer's.
  • I guess C-x M-c M-butterfly has been taken. Why not most effective way to program?

  • Considering how much money he has/controls, that's just peanunts to him. It's like when I did a $1k price for something... probably even less.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by dvice ( 6309704 )

      Gates is funding several different projects. I think it is based on the idea that it is best to fund multiple small projects than one big project. The total funding last year was about 8 billion dollars.

      https://www.gatesfoundation.or... [gatesfoundation.org]

    • How much do the rich really have at any one time? A lot of it is tied up in stocks, which if they sold would crash the price. Gates specifically has a rather large short position in Tesla that's getting wrecked, so he's also got some losses he has to fund. Isn't it the case that most lower 6 figure incomers are a paycheck from homelessness, or some silly stat like that? The rich also have huge expenditures so how much left to just do whatever might not be as much as you think. IMO $1m is a lot no matter who
      • Do you mean how liquid are they usually? A quick search suggests that billionaires tend to keep about 1% of their wealth in liquid assets, but I'm not sure how reliable that answer is.

        I don't think Gates needs to "fund" any losses. That may even be beneficial to him tax-wise.

  • Why is science so bloodthirsty?

  • Gates is getting older.

  • offering a $5 prize for alzheimer's treatments. Come on man, this is one of the most pressing issues of our time and Gates is throwing us his change he lost in the couch.

    The amount of money he has made even saying the name of this prize is probably equivalent. Dude makes more money in one night of his sleep than most people will see in their lifetimes.

  • How can AI work for Alzheimers, but not other degenerative diseases? It's a silly prize, with a silly amount of money. But good red meat for journalists.

    • How can AI work for Alzheimers, but not other degenerative diseases? It's a silly prize, with a silly amount of money. But good red meat for journalists.

      This. We all know that tying the prize to an "AI" condition makes the prize no matter how much, meaningless.

  • Injections of Ivermectin for everyone! And aluminum foil underware to ward off Bluetooth, 5G cell and IR remote control radiation.
  • They will give the prize to someone, so as to not garner embarrassment, but the plain fact is that there is no LLM "capable of independent planning, reasoning, and action" even in the slightest.
  • It's been known for over 120 years that chiropractic treatments can eliminate life-stealing vertebral subluxations from the spine.

    That translates directly into neurological health. Alzheimer's patients should seek immediate chiropractic care to help them correct their brain misalignments.

    I had one patient who kept forgetting my name, near the end I was treating her in her palliative care area. But she never once forgot to pay me. That is the power of chiropractic!

  • With Gratitude (Score:3)

    by Spinlock_1977 ( 777598 ) <Spinlock_1977@yahoo . c om> on Tuesday August 19, 2025 @12:00PM (#65599928) Journal

    I'm very glad he remembered to donate.

  • The NeuroLattice Protocol
    Core Idea: Instead of trying to stop plaques or tangles after they form, this therapy rebuilds damaged memory pathways by creating an artificial “scaffold” in the brain.

    How It Works:

    Nanofibers are injected into the bloodstream. These fibers cross the blood-brain barrier and assemble into a lattice-like framework around neurons.

    The lattice releases targeted neurotrophic factors (synthetic proteins that encourage neuron growth).

    A wearable “memory synchronizer” headset provides low-intensity pulsed light and ultrasound stimulation, guiding the brain to reconnect old memory circuits onto the scaffold.

    Over time, the scaffold dissolves, leaving behind reinforced natural connections.

    Result: Plaques and tangles no longer block recall because the memories are “rerouted” through strengthened alternative pathways. Patients regain not just memory but clarity and personality.

    Alright Bill, all done. How about you send me an email and when I forward it the $1 million will get transferred into my bank.

  • but I keep forgetting to enter.

  • Step up Bill, you have more money than he did.

  • He must be running out of money...

  • Explains a lot.
  • They are not seeking a solution to Alzheimer's, but a monetisation solution to solve the problem (and presumably other similar problems). I would feel a lot better if there was commitment to making the solution available publicly at the end of the competition, or that any profits generated by the solution would pay first any costs (like the winning million) and then go to charity.

  • Indeed, this should be seen as an insult to Humankind.

    Probably a big amount of money for people who have barely enough to eat. But for that "guy", it is basically nothing.

    Shame!

  • That's what those words mean, right? That Bill Gates is offering a million dollars to whoever can give Alzheimer's to AIs?

  • Insulin resistance

    - Stop using statins which help cause insulin resistance
    - Stop worrying about cholesterol, its critical to brain function and not the cause of heart disease only a symptom
    - Feed your brain with ketones by eating a low or no carb diet
    - This is proper for everyone, but also has the benefit of helping those already suffering from dementia/alzheimers by bypassing insulin resistance which prevents glucose from being supplied to the brain. Ketones bypasses insulin resistance and replaces

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