If you have an Oura Ring, you're likely familiar with Oura Advisor, the company's in-app AI chatbot that can answer questions about your health. In February, Oura, the maker of the smart ring, launched its first proprietary AI model, like Oura Advisor, but specifically for women.
As of April 8, the company announced that this women's health AI model is now within Oura Advisor to answer questions about menopause, the menstrual cycle, fertility and more. Previously, it was available for testing under the app's Oura Labs tab.
“This custom model is a fundamental shift in how we responsibly deploy AI in health to meet the needs of our members,” Dr. Ricky Bloomfield, Oura's chief medical officer, said in a press release. “Women’s health is too complex -- and too often overlooked -- to rely on one-size-fits-all systems. By designing a model specifically for women and grounding it in trusted clinical science and real-world biometric data, we’re setting the standard for how responsible intelligence should be built and expanded across more areas of health."
The women's health AI chatbot in Oura Advisor.
OuraHow this new women's health AI model was designed
Created by Oura's own team of board-certified doctors and women’s health experts, the new AI model is the company's first custom large language model, built using Oura Advisor's generative AI and Oura's biometric tracking and health-sensing algorithms. So, when a women's health question is asked, this new model is able to comb through its curated women’s health research library while analyzing the data collected by the user's Oura Ring to provide evidence-based answers.
Perhaps most importantly, this new version of Oura Advisor was created to answer questions in a supportive way that doesn't dismiss the user's concerns.
Dr. Chris Curry, clinical director of women’s health at Oura and a board-certified obstetrician and gynecologist, adds in the press release that this model aims to help people prepare for appointments with their doctors: "For example, if someone asks, ‘Why has my cycle suddenly become irregular, and is that something to worry about?’ Oura Advisor can walk them through what’s typical, what their data may be showing and what would be most helpful to surface in conversations with their provider."
Oura, AI and privacy
Oura states that it will never sell or rent your health data, and won't share your sensitive information without your consent.
Oura has outlined a future vision for what it calls “private AI,” which means all AI insights are processed and generated only on your device. The company also partners with webAI, an AI tech company that Oura describes as a "platform for intelligence to operate securely, scale autonomously and evolve with users’ needs." Some of its processes, such as population-level algorithms, may use cloud or hybrid architectures when it makes sense for the task at hand.
Correction, Feb. 26: This story initially contained incorrect information about Oura's privacy policy. Oura's "private AI" is not a current feature, but is a future vision the company has outlined. Right now, AI insights are still processed in the cloud.
The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified health provider regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health objectives.
Medical and Mental Health
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