Drift Happens: Why AI Needs a Memory for People, Not Just Patterns
Reminders are supposed to be boring. Take medication. Drink water. Attend an appointment. Confirm the task is done. The whole point of a reminder system is that it sits quietly in the background, nudging daily life along without demanding a board meeting. But in dementia care, the reply to a reminder can become more important than the reminder itself. A person who once replied warmly may become brief and flat. Someone who usually answers the question may begin drifting around it. The change may not arrive as a dramatic failure. It may arrive as a slope. ...