Hans Arnold and the Joint Artificial Intelligence Network (YES) are inextricably linked. “A man and his organization” with whom we have built up a special collaboration from our Expertise Center.
Smart applications of artificial intelligence can contribute to meaningful innovations that promote the well-being of the person with dementia in a broad sense and increase the quality of life and self-reliance. First of all for the people who are confronted with dementia themselves, but also for informal caregivers and professional care.
We interviewed Hans about his work and passion for helping people with dementia.
A day after we asked Hans Arnold whether he might be interested in being interviewed for the ECDT Newsletter, we immediately received a positive answer, accompanied by an extensive curriculum vitae with personal explanation to help us in the preparations of the interview. This is Hans in full detail; being ready, helping to think ahead and plan.
On a sunny autumn day in October we visited Hans at his home in Hoornaar, in the Alblasserwaard, the beautiful area between the Merwede and the Lek.
“It's all in my head and I write everything down in a book, that's how I've been working for 40 years.”
Hans Arnold, born in Naarden, is in his sixties; a man with passion and drive. With a background as a flight engineer, working at Fokker, among others, the foundation has already been laid for thinking constructively as an entrepreneur and planner. As director and founder of the Technology Investment Group (TIGNL), he gets a lot done as a horizontal team player. He thrives best as a key player in international innovative projects where “something” has to be achieved with a multidisciplinary group of people. He does not shy away from using airplane metaphors during innovation processes, such as “navigating in the fog”, “adjusting against the wind”, “setting out beacons” and the “runway for knowledge”.
Hans has developed projects in the peace, justice and security domain based on smart sensors and Artificial Intelligence (AI) for early detection of where and at what time a security incident could occur. Based on these results, Hans was asked by the Dutch Forensic Institute in The Hague to be the innovation manager of the project CSI The Hague to be realised. Digital preservation of a crime scene offers great opportunities for forensic research. He then works with an extensive consortium to develop a digital reporting platform with which citizens and professionals can contribute to a safe neighborhood. In all these projects, AI, smart technologies, ethics, privacy and data protection play a decisive role.
The origins of JAIN
Due to a number of personal events, including a family member who suddenly lost his memory, Hans decides to put his expertise and entrepreneurship in the field of management and artificial intelligence fully at the service of people with dementia. An inspiration that fits perfectly with the sensitive and soft side of his character: “we are going to help people with dementia”. He spontaneously receives a lot of support and cooperation from his network, but his collaboration with his eldest son Thomas, who represents the external contacts, ultimately proves to be his greatest strength. Together with him he chose the name 'JAIN' and officially founded JAIN. Hans' gift of inspiring people and leading them along, the guidance of the JAIN Young Professionals by Thomas, his knowledge of the brain and both their networks ensure that the JAIN organization is now nationally and internationally active in the field of "dementia and AI” has attracted attention.
Look for creativity within yourself, not from books
According to Hans, the key to designing for people with dementia is to talk extensively with those involved and those around them. They are often not aware of the possibilities that technological applications, no matter how simple, could offer to make life more pleasant and ultimately promote self-reliance and independence of the person with dementia.
“I have seen that you have to be able to talk to people with that soft view of the family member and healthcare worker, with the technology glasses that I am wearing.”
He indicates that the questions and problems that those involved struggle with can often be resolved with technology and can lead to invaluable “moments of happiness” for the person with dementia. This personalized and creative approach fits seamlessly with the philosophy of our ECDT: listening empathetically to the needs and concerns of the person with dementia and their environment, based on the person themselves and not the diagnosis of dementia.
Future dreams
Hans would like to continue to maintain this feeling of happiness:
“That I can continue to design beautiful things for people with dementia, so that they can continue to live at home for as long as possible. That's exactly what I want to help. That's the only thing."
According to Hans, JAIN will be able to support itself within a number of years, perhaps as a foundation. There are many companies that already have thorough AI knowledge, but are not yet aware of the applications that they could develop with their expertise for the 50 million people with dementia worldwide. Innovations can also be produced on such a scale for little money.
This is a clear ambition of Hans - internationally, JAIN now collaborates with the scientific attachés of Dutch embassies in dozens of countries, including China, India, Germany, France and Israel, in order to achieve broader support for knowledge exchange and joint innovations. In this way, Hans pulls out all the stops to make people worldwide aware of the need to develop and apply artificial intelligence that meets the needs and wishes of people with dementia.
Ans Tummers-Heemels, Wijnand IJsselsteijn.
