Human Augmentation

Menlo is focused on human augmentation, vs. replacing humans. We see AI as the latest in a long line of tools, from fire to the wheel, that have helped humans become a sapient species.

We are currently experimenting with:

• A “second brain”
• Wearable sensors that ambiently capture context
• Multimodal, real-time models that can understand the world (on-device and in cloud)

Goal

The goal of human augmentation is to improve humans’ performance and well-being.

Skills

We are currently focused on designing a system to enable people to thrive by supporting critical skills ¹.

• Memory
• Attention
• Learning
• Creativity
• Decision making
• Communication
• Emotional regulation

Safeguards

We will need to augment the user, while safeguarding ²:

• User Agency
• Understanding
• Independence
• Privacy

Use-cases

We are guided by the following use-cases:

Rookie -> Expert

• Rookie nurse becomes instantly experienced, catching critical symptoms before they escalate
• Police officer walking into chaos has an experienced situational awareness helping him make decisions
• Technician repairs complex machinery in a remote rig, where expertise cannot be carried in books
• Traveller in foreign country can understand and communicate with locals

Breaking Biological Constraints

• Blind can “see” with VLMs
• Deaf can “hear” with live transcription
• Memory-impaired patients can live life with some independence

Expanding Cognitive Capacity

• Experiences the world as context
• Perfect episodic memory and infinite recall
• Go beyond peak cognitive load
• Delegate mundane tasks to the machine

Appendix