Can a Robot Help Ensure Our Children Survive and Thrive?
Using my critical thinking and fact-checking powers to confirm what’s written, I took ChatGPT out for a test run to test its artificial intelligence skills. The results might surprise you.
by Dominic Cappello
June 19, 2023
Note: Unlike most of our articles which are close to 650 words, this one required a longer length to demonstrate the power of artificial intelligence (AI) and its capacity to revolutionize New Mexico’s thinking around public health and education. For our 100% New Mexico initiative participants and partners, you’ll find this a fascinating read.
Facing a very human dilemma
It’s a very stark choice we humans must make: ensure children thrive or not. It’s also an ethical dilemma, as we know how to ensure services for thriving yet fail to do so. What does a revolutionary advancement in artificial intelligence, now available on our phones, have to do with our 100% New Mexico mission to ensure vital service?
Allow me to provide the context in which this article appears. Transforming society into a place where every child is the number one priority, with access to vital services for surviving and thriving, is not an easy mission to take on. Our job with NMSU’s 100% New Mexico initiative is to educate each leader in state, county, and city government about the social determinants of health, which means that the services children grow up with determine their health, safety, education, and future. We stress to elected leaders and stakeholders that failure to ensure vital services means our children live with adverse social determinants in the form of inaccessible services and underachieving schools, leading to a lack of job readiness, trauma, substance use disorders, violence, suicidal ideation, and hopelessness. For the most part, childhood adversity, abuse, and neglect are the result of the adverse social determinants of health.
Using AI to help us turn science into real-world solutions
Our work involves both research into evidence-informed solutions to our interconnected health and education challenges, as well as relationship-building with the leaders who control the funding for public health and education and our capacity to create a seamless state-of-the-art system of healthcare and learning. This requires making a case for the return on investment in ensuring vital services that could be done through three strategies: 1) Creating 100% Family Centers: One Stop Service Hubs, 2) Transforming each school into a fully-resourced Community School with a robust center for mental and medical care, and 3) Addressing workforces shortages with healthcare providers, teachers, and social workers. (Remember me mentioning our mission not being easy?)
Meet my robot friend called ChatGPT
This is where artificial intelligence, in the form of ChatGPT, helps. It can assist us with our research focused on designing one-stop service hubs, community schools, school-based health centers, and addressing work shortages. Rather than me write about what ChatGPT is and what it can do to support our mission, I did an interview with it. (Note: some of ChatGPT’s responses were edited for length.)
Dominic: What is ChatGPT?
ChatGPT: ChatGPT is a state-of-the-art language model developed by OpenAI. Language models like ChatGPT are designed to understand and generate human-like text based on the input they receive. ChatGPT has been trained on a massive dataset containing a diverse range of texts from the internet, including books, articles, websites, and more. This extensive training allows the model to generate coherent and contextually relevant responses to a wide variety of prompts and questions.
The purpose of ChatGPT is to assist users in generating human-like text, engaging in conversations, providing information, answering questions, and offering creative suggestions. It can be used for a wide range of applications, including writing assistance, idea generation, programming help, language translation, and much more.
It’s important to note that while ChatGPT can be a helpful tool, it is still a machine learning model and may occasionally generate incorrect or nonsensical responses. It’s always advisable to critically evaluate the information provided by the model and cross-check it with reliable sources when necessary.
Dominic: Why should I use ChatGPT to research and write about increasing the health, safety, and education and our children?
ChatGPT: There are several reasons why using ChatGPT can be beneficial for researching and writing about increasing the health, safety, and education of children:
- Access to vast knowledge: ChatGPT has been trained on a wide range of texts and has access to a vast amount of information. It can provide you with relevant and up-to-date information on various topics related to children’s health, safety, and education. You can ask specific questions or request explanations on complex subjects to enhance your understanding and gather comprehensive information.
- Time efficiency: By using ChatGPT, you can save a significant amount of time in your research process. Instead of manually sifting through numerous sources, you can ask questions directly to the model and receive instant responses. This can expedite your research process, allowing you to gather information more efficiently and focus on the analysis and synthesis of the information.
- Diverse perspectives: ChatGPT can offer a wide range of perspectives on the topic you’re exploring. It has been trained on a diverse set of texts, which enables it to provide insights and viewpoints from various sources. This can help you gain a more comprehensive understanding of the subject matter and consider multiple perspectives when developing your arguments or recommendations.
- Assistance in generating ideas: If you’re looking for ideas or inspiration for your writing, ChatGPT can help spark your creativity. You can engage in interactive conversations with the model, brainstorm ideas together, and explore different angles or approaches to address the issues related to children’s health, safety, and education. It can provide suggestions, examples, and insights to enhance the quality of your writing.
- Language assistance: ChatGPT can assist you in improving the clarity, coherence, and structure of your writing. You can ask for guidance on sentence construction, grammar, or vocabulary to refine your language usage. The model can help you with proofreading, paraphrasing, and generating well-articulated sentences, which can contribute to the overall quality and effectiveness of your work.
However, while ChatGPT can be a valuable tool for research and writing, it is essential to critically evaluate and verify the information it provides. Always fact-check the information obtained from the model and consider consulting additional reliable sources to ensure accuracy and validity.
Dominic: What are the benefits of transforming the adverse social determinants of health into positive ones?
ChatGPT: Transforming adverse social determinants of health into positive ones can have several significant benefits:
- Improved overall health outcomes: Adverse social determinants of health, such as poverty, inadequate housing, limited education, and lack of access to healthcare, can negatively impact individuals’ health. By addressing and transforming these determinants into positive ones, such as socioeconomic stability, quality education, safe housing, and accessible healthcare, overall health outcomes can be improved. This includes reducing the prevalence of chronic diseases, improving life expectancy, and enhancing the overall well-being of individuals and communities.
- Reduced health inequities: Adverse social determinants of health often contribute to health inequities, where certain populations or communities experience poorer health outcomes compared to others. By transforming these determinants into positive ones, we can work towards reducing health inequities. This means ensuring that everyone, regardless of their background or social circumstances, has equal opportunities for good health and well-being.
- Enhanced child development and lifelong outcomes: Positive social determinants of health, such as access to quality education, safe neighborhoods, and supportive families, can have a profound impact on child development. By transforming adverse determinants into positive ones, we can create environments that promote healthy physical, cognitive, and socio-emotional development in children. This sets them on a trajectory for better lifelong outcomes, including educational attainment, employment opportunities, and overall quality of life.
- Increased productivity and economic growth: Healthy individuals are more likely to be productive and contribute to the economy. By addressing adverse social determinants of health, we can create conditions that support individuals in reaching their full potential. This includes providing access to quality education, skills training, and economic opportunities. When individuals are healthier, they are better equipped to participate in the workforce, leading to increased productivity and economic growth for communities and societies.
- Stronger and more resilient communities: Transforming adverse social determinants of health into positive ones fosters the development of stronger and more resilient communities. When communities have access to resources, social support networks, and opportunities for personal and collective growth, they are better equipped to address challenges, recover from setbacks, and thrive. This leads to a sense of cohesion, social capital, and overall community well-being.
In summary, transforming adverse social determinants of health into positive ones has the potential to improve health outcomes, reduce health inequities, enhance child development, increase productivity, and foster stronger communities. It is a critical step towards creating healthier and more equitable societies.
Dominic: What are the benefits of preventing adverse childhood experiences?
ChatGPT: Preventing adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can have numerous benefits for individuals, families, and society as a whole. Here are some of the key benefits:
- Improved lifelong health: ACEs, such as abuse, neglect, household dysfunction, and other traumatic experiences, can have profound and long-lasting effects on physical and mental health. By preventing ACEs, individuals have a better chance of avoiding the negative health consequences associated with these experiences. This includes a reduced risk of chronic diseases, mental health disorders, substance abuse, and other health-related issues.
- Enhanced emotional well-being: ACEs can significantly impact emotional well-being and increase the risk of developing mental health disorders, including depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder. By preventing ACEs, individuals are more likely to have healthier emotional development, higher self-esteem, and better overall mental well-being.
- Positive social and interpersonal relationships: ACEs can impair the development of social and interpersonal skills, leading to difficulties in forming healthy relationships and maintaining positive social connections. By preventing ACEs, individuals have a better chance of developing healthy relationship patterns, building strong social support networks, and experiencing positive social interactions.
- Increased educational attainment: ACEs can have a detrimental impact on educational outcomes, including lower academic achievement, increased school dropout rates, and difficulties in learning and concentration. By preventing ACEs, individuals are more likely to have better educational opportunities, perform well academically, and achieve higher levels of educational attainment. This sets them on a path towards greater success and opportunities in adulthood.
- Reduced involvement in risky behaviors: ACEs are associated with an increased likelihood of engaging in risky behaviors such as substance abuse, self-harm, and early sexual activity. By preventing ACEs, individuals have a reduced risk of adopting these harmful behaviors, leading to healthier lifestyle choices and decreased involvement in risky activities.
- Break the intergenerational cycle: ACEs can perpetuate a cycle of trauma and adversity across generations. Preventing ACEs can help break this cycle by providing children with safe and nurturing environments, positive parenting, and support systems that promote resilience and well-being. This sets the stage for healthier family dynamics and improved outcomes for future generations.
- Economic savings: ACEs impose significant economic costs on individuals, families, and society, including healthcare expenses, lost productivity, and increased social service utilization. By preventing ACEs, there is potential for substantial economic savings in terms of healthcare costs, reduced need for social interventions, and increased productivity in the workforce.
In summary, preventing adverse childhood experiences yields a wide range of benefits, including improved lifelong health, enhanced emotional well-being, positive social relationships, increased educational attainment, reduced engagement in risky behaviors, breaking intergenerational cycles of trauma, and economic savings. It underscores the importance of creating safe, nurturing, and supportive environments for children to thrive and reach their full potential.
Dominic: What motivates governments to pass policies to ensure the health, safety, and education of their people?
ChatGPT: Governments are motivated to pass policies to ensure the health, safety, and education of their people due to several reasons:
- Public welfare and well-being: Governments have a responsibility to protect and promote the welfare and well-being of their citizens. Health, safety, and education are fundamental components of a thriving society. Policies that prioritize these areas aim to improve the overall quality of life and enhance the opportunities available to individuals and communities.
- Economic development and productivity: Healthy, safe, and well-educated populations are essential for economic development and productivity. Governments recognize that investing in the health and education of their people can lead to a more skilled and productive workforce, attracting investment and fostering economic growth. Healthy individuals also reduce the burden on healthcare systems and contribute to a more stable and sustainable economy.
- Social stability and cohesion: Ensuring the health, safety, and education of the population contributes to social stability and cohesion. Policies that address inequalities and provide equal access to essential services help reduce social disparities and promote social justice. This can lead to greater social harmony, reduced crime rates, and a stronger sense of community.
- Human rights and equity: Governments are often guided by principles of human rights and equity. Policies that prioritize health, safety, and education align with these principles by ensuring that every individual has access to basic rights and opportunities. Governments aim to create an inclusive society where all individuals, regardless of their background, have equal access to essential services and a fair chance at a healthy and fulfilling life.
- Political accountability and public demand: Governments are accountable to their citizens and respond to public demands. The health, safety, and education of the population are often important issues that receive significant attention and support from the public. Governments recognize the importance of addressing these concerns to gain and maintain public trust, secure electoral support, and demonstrate effective governance.
It’s important to note that the specific motivations may vary depending on the political, social, and cultural context of each country. However, the overarching goal remains to ensure the well-being and development of the population, foster economic growth, promote social stability, uphold human rights, and fulfill international commitments.
The interview with AI ends. How did it do?
As ChatGPT instructed me to (am I taking orders from AI now?), I reviewed everything ChatGPT wrote. Based on our work transforming the social determinants of health into positive ones, preventing adverse childhood experiences, and advocating for governments to address our colliding crises, I can confirm what ChatGPT had to share. My point in introducing readers to ChatGPT is not to tell people to give up research and writing, but to use the power of AI to generate new ideas and ways of problem-solving. It’s a powerful tool and used with care, critical thinking, and ethics, it can increase our capacity to understand complex challenges and design solutions to our most pressing human challenges. I encourage you to take a test drive on ChatGPT. For our 100% New Mexico initiative participants and partners, may I offer a few questions to ask our robot researcher and writer:
What are the benefits of a community school?
What are the benefits of a one-stop service hub that provides health services to families?
What are effective ways to address the workforce shortage in the healthcare sector?
Why do people work collectively to make social change?
What is systems change?
Why is self-care important?
[Editor’s Note: We asked ChatGPT if it was a robot. It’s first response was “Yes, I am an AI language model developed by OpenAI called ChatGPT. While some people might refer to me as a ‘robot,’ I don’t have a physical form.” However, when asked to clarify its response, ChatGPT responded, “Apologies for any confusion caused by my previous response. Technically speaking, I am not a robot as I do not possess a physical body or embodiment.”]
Mission: The 100% New Mexico initiative is dedicated to ensuring that 100% of families can access ten vital services crucial for their overall health, resilience, and success. This university-sponsored endeavor necessitates the local implementation of evidence-based strategies encompassing both community and school-based service hubs, aiming to prevent the most pressing and costly public health and safety challenges, including adverse social determinants of health and adverse childhood experiences.
Dominic Cappello
Cappello is a New York Times bestselling author and TEDx Conference curator with decades of experience advocating for health, safety and education. He has a Master of Arts in Liberal studies with an emphasis on Language and Communication from Regis University. He worked for the New Mexico Department of Health Epidemiology and Response Division and the New Mexico Child Protective Services Research, Assessment and Data Bureau, where he co-developed the Data Leader for Child Welfare program, which he implemented in New York City, Connecticut and New Mexico.
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The 100% New Mexico initiative is a program of the Anna, Age Eight Institute at New Mexico State University, College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, Cooperative Extension Service. Contact: annaageeight@nmsu.edu or visit annaageeight.nmsu.edu to learn more.
