An AI model attempts to predict when you’ll die — here's what happened when I tried it
I’ve tried many AI models – from ChatGPT to Claude and Notion AI. But this one was definitely a new one for me — a Death Calculator called Life2vec that aims to predict my “expiration date”.
I’ve tried many AI models — from ChatGPT to Claude and Notion AI. But this one definitely stood out to me — a Death Calculator called Life2vec that aims to predict my “expiration date”.
The model was created by scientists in Denmark and the US, and trained on years' worth of data from Danish health and demographic records covering six million people.
Life2vec can predict various outcomes, such as mortality risk, future income, and health conditions. It’s important to note, though, that the model bases its predictions on sequences it was trained on, so it cannot make real predictions about your own life outcomes.
However, it also claims to achieve state-of-the-art performance and an accuracy per prediction task of 70-90%, which is…quite impressive.
A groundbreaking new ChatGPT-like artificial intelligence system trained with the life stories of over a million people is highly accurate in predicting the lives of individuals as well as their risk of early death, according to a new study.
undefined The Tatva (@thetatvaindia) December 21, 2023
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The test
So I decided to try it out. The model prompted me with questions like “Do you smoke?”, “Do you exercise regularly?”, and “Do you get 7-8 hours of sleep each night?”. These questions are consistent with existing research about factors influencing life expectancy.
After I filled everything out, Life2vec estimated my lifespan at 75 years. I tried it again, only slightly modifying my answers, and suddenly, the model slashed my life expectancy by 33 years! Worryingly, it also put my “expiration date” as my actual birthday, which was a fun — yet a slightly spooky — coincidence.
Importantly, the model explicitly states that the prediction “is purely for entertainment purposes only.” In a separate request, I asked it to predict my finances as “that time approaches”. According to Life2vec, my net worth will be around $750,000 to $1 million, with a comfortable retirement fund set aside and a large savings account. Now that, sadly, does sound more like entertainment than predicted reality!
Although this opens up more questions: what role will AI soon play in predicting life events? And what ethical problems will arise? You can read our insights about that here, but in the meantime, don’t stress too much about the time you allegedly have left — if only life were as simple as an algorithm, even the most sophisticated one!
