The first photorealistic AI avatar for people living with Alzheimer’s and dementia

Lenovo™ in collaboration with Innovations in Dementia, has launched 'Alzheimer’s Intelligence'—a photorealistic 3D avatar with custom AI based on the lived experiences of people with dementia and Alzheimer’s.

Curated by Zeno London, this proof-of-concept project gives people and families navigating a diagnosis of dementia 24-hour access to a conversational avatar that offers first-hand perspectives of the disease that are often missing from existing resources.

Globally, around 55 million people are living with dementia, and that number is expected to reach 139 million by 2050. In the UK alone, approximately 980,000 people are living with a form of dementia, and this number is expected to rise to 1.4 million by 2040. Alzheimer’s Intelligence allows people who have recently been diagnosed with dementia to ask questions that only someone who has lived with the disease can answer, including understanding day-to-day challenges, discussing the disease with family, and exploring new hobbies. Crucially, the entire experience was designed to be accessible, requiring minimal tech expertise and prioritising natural, familiar interaction.

In this first-of-its-kind application, Lenovo pioneered the use of AI made possible by its comprehensive portfolio of technology solutions, from individual to enterprise. The combined technology aggregates first-hand experience and advice from real people living with dementia and Alzheimer’s into a responsive, photoreal 3D avatar capable of having an unscripted, natural conversation. With this proof of concept, a person diagnosed with dementia is just a click away from a real-time conversational resource and aid.

A large language model (LLM) dataset of the advice the avatar named “Liv” can impart was created using data that came directly from experiences of people living with dementia, including entries from Innovations in Dementia’s Dementia Diaries project and in-depth panel interviews.

Liv’s visual identity was created from a composite of images of 10 people living with dementia and Alzheimer’s. From the initial pose of each image, generative AI extrapolated faces for several thousand other expressions and angles inspired by the subject. These were then aggregated into one dataset, which blends with the face of a filmed performer to create a relatable and natural image.

Alzheimer’s Intelligence is currently being trialled by people with dementia in a controlled environment with the goal of making it more publicly available in the future. The making of the project and initial interactions have been captured in the films linked here.