artificial intelligence sheds light on our behavior

There’s a misconception that it takes 21 days to form any new habit, but that magic number of 21 days has no scientific basis, say researchers at the California Institute of Technology. In fact, the adaptation time of the brain depends on the habit to take.

Scientists followed 30,000 volunteers as they went to and from the gym for four years. The data from their entry badge was analyzed by an artificial intelligence: day, time, regularity, duration of the session, etc. The result is that it takes an average of six months for a sports session to become a routine in a diary. This routine settles more easily on Monday and Tuesday. This study is the first to use machine learning tools to study long-term habit formation, the authors say. Because most previous studies are limited to surveys.

The stress-revealing computer mouse

For those who have a more sedentary life, another study shows us that the computer mouse reveals our stress level. As in the previous study, it is the analysis of data by artificial intelligence that teaches us great things about our behavior. Researchers from the Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich have indeed shown that the way we use our computer keyboard or mouse is a better indicator of the level of stress than our heart rate.
When the stress increases, there is a tendency to manipulate the mouse more often, less precisely and to make it travel greater distances on the screen. The keyboard is also used more jerkily. Stress affects our motor skills and our ability to process information, hence the longer journeys with the mouse on the screen.

For this Swiss team, an artificial intelligence model studying computer behavior could prevent chronic stress at work. Provided, of course, that employee data can be anonymized and protected, and are not used to monitor them.