Can AI revolutionize mental health treatment?

March 18, 2024

AI will help neuroscientists discover the true cause and effects of cognition and all other mental processes, including mental health disorders and diseases. 

Mental processes are physical processes. There is nothing mystical or magical. Everything is physical yet in a tiny nanoscale (billionth of a meter) and with trillions--if not more--tiny moving parts and interactions. 

Neuroscience and mental health medicine fields like psychiatry and neurology have advanced significantly in the past few decades. However, both psychiatry and neurology remain almost useless (no offense intended) past the diagnosis phase. To this date, there are no effective neurosurgical procedures that can actually fix and cure mental disorders and diseases. 

In the future, the mental health specialties may be as effective as surgical and orthopedic ones where actual physical improvements are made to fix health problems and traumas. Instead of blind guessing, there may be actual nano surgeries for physical repairs and interventions that can actually cure "mental" conditions and diseases like dementia, Alzheimer's, and so many others.  

Below some observations about AI programming and some guesses about neuroscience. 

AI programming turns traditional computer processing on its head. In traditional programming, a human dictates the rules of the game (i.e. results to be accomplished) whereas in AI programming, the computer figures out the rules of the game by itself. In traditional programming, the computer can be faster than the "master" human programmer, but not smarter. In AI programming, the computer can be both faster and smarter than the human programmer. The AI can find the true optimal rules of the game, which may be different and superior than the ones devised by the human programmer.  

In traditional programming, the human programmer dictates step-by-step instructions (algorithm) for the computer to follow. The computer follows the algorithm quickly and accurately, but blindly and even dumbly. This leads to the classical GIGO for garbage in garbage out. In traditional programming, if the program created by the human is garbage, the result produced by the computer will also be garbage.

In AI programming, instead of the human programmer telling the computer how to play the game to win, the programmer loads into the computer large data sets of winning plays or desirable results. The computer analyses the data to find patterns and correlations that lead to the winning results. The computer figures out on itself the true and optimal rules of the game. 

The AI programming can find superior ways to play the game. The AI can play the "game" quickly, accurately, and smartly. There's no more GIGO. The computer learns the true rules, which the human programmer may not be even aware of. There's AIRO for answers in rules out. From the answers, the AI figures out the rules. 

AI figures out the patterns and correlations leading to the actual causation (cause and effect) of winning moves in any "game" (endeavor). Once the AI figures out the actual and optimal cause and effect rules, it becomes essentially unbeatable in the game, or at least not beatable by a primate brain.  

Gradually, AI will help humans figure out the true cause and effect rules of all mental processes both optimal and suboptimal. Mental health will stop being a mystery. Psychiatry and neurology will become similar to orthopedics with actual structural surgeries to fix and optimize the physical nanoscale processes that humans refer to as "mental" processes. 

What happens inside the brain and the rest of the nervous system may be as physical and systematic as electronic circuitry, a water distribution system, a telecommunication station, etc. That is, there is nothing magical or mystical going on. Everything is physical yet tiny at the nanoscale. 

What humans thought was "magical" or even "spiritual" in the human brain may be very well be just a series of cause and effects produced by physical phenomena. There is a nonstop 24/7 combination of actions and reactions. Some messages and images relate to events that originated in the external world while others relate to events that exist only inside the brain.  

• Communication. Physical stimuli, either external or internal, trigger neurons into releasing electrochemical signals between themselves. Neurotransmissions run nonstop on a 24/7 communication cycle. 

• Pain. Some neurotransmissions may cause cellular instability, which may be pain.

• Pleasure. Some neurotransmissions may cause cause cellular stability, which may be pleasure.

• Repulsion. Painful neurotransmissions may trigger repulsion (e.g. avoiding a hot surface).

• Attraction. Pleasant neurotransmissions may trigger attractive behavior (e.g. grabbing an apple). 

• Thoughts. Neurons create physical representations of the physical stimuli that reaches them.

• Ideas. Neurons create physical connections of physical thought representations.

• Images. External light trigger neural projections. 

• Imagination. Internal light trigger alternative neural projections. 

• Simulation. Neurons replicate alternative projections. 

• Memories. Neurons simulate past projections.

• Fantasies. Neurons can simulate inaccurate projections.

• Predictions. Neurons can simulate projections of anticipated future events. 

• Anticipation. Neural predictions may lead to anticipatory repulsive or attractive behavior. 

• Motivation. Neural predictions of pain or pleasure create excitement or frustration.

• Depression. Neurons can create contradictory predictions with neutralizing effects.  

• Consciousness. Integrated sensory awareness of neural communication network.  

AI will help neuroscientists map the physical neural communications that lead to all mental processes. Spoiler alert. There is no magic. Everything in the mind is 100% physical and 0% metaphysical. Nothing is magical, mystical, mythological, spiritual, or anything intangible like that. Everything is physical yet very tiny in the nanoscale (one billionth of a meter size). Thought, ideas, dreams, images, and all mental processes are all physical building blocks. AI will help humans put the pieces together to enhance neuroengineering. This will lead to a smarter and more capable version of homo sapiens, the AI sapiens.

The best is yet to come. Stay tuned. 

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