All this talk about AI revolutionizing everything reminds me of the amusing — but untrue — anecdote about the NASA Space Pen. The commonly believed myth is that NASA spent millions of dollars to develop a pen that could write in space (zero gravity environments) while the Russians just used easily available pencils (which do not depend on gravity)*.
The anecdote is a healthy reminder that solutions don't need to be complicated and expensive if you are clear of the problem to be solved in the first place. To me, force-fitting AI into everything feels like spending millions to develop something that looks like a solution, but fails because it never addressed the real problem in the first place.
Through my social venture CoolCoach, I stay closely connected to the fitness industry. Every day, there is a new announcement of how AI is going to help everyone get fitter. In a nutshell, AI promises to crunch all the data you can give it and come up with personalized recommendations for an individual. Sounds exciting, but in reality, the problem never has been personalization; it's the lack of action.
The idea is that AI can accurately tell me the right workout, the perfect amount of sleep, how much water to drink, and how many calories to consume daily — all based on tracking dozens or even thousands of parameters. It sounds impressive. But honestly, even without any AI or fancy tracking, if you simply work out 5 times a week (including 2 strength training sessions), sleep at least 7 hours, drink 2.5+ litres of water, and eat clean, you’ll be very fit and healthy. Of course, over time, you will adjust my suggestions above to suit your personal demographic, lifestyle, and goals — but those changes would be minor compared to the noise around the supposed importance of personalization.
The NASA Space Pen and the pencil both did the job — astronauts and cosmonauts were able to write in space. On hearing the anecdote, the common Aha! that pops into everyone's head is: Americans - unnecessarily spent so much money and effort to develop the space pen; Russians - smartly used a simple pencil. No one really stops to think about the other challenges in space (extreme heat for one!) that pushed the Americans to develop a pen that could write in Space.
The anecdote is so simple and powerful that most of us don't even stop to question its relevance to our own lives. Set aside the additional requirements for the space pen — and the expenses — for a moment. In my opinion, the better first question to ask is: are you even heading to space?
Most of us are not training for the Olympics (or any other elite fitness event). But it's tempting to think that we will meet our fitness goals once we get access to the kind of support and insight that elite athletes get. AI promises to do just that. Don't get me wrong, I am sure AI has a place in the fitness industry, and I am confident that AI will change the game for many. I'm just not convinced the outcomes will be as revolutionary as promised.
For most of us, before we rush to build a space pen for our fitness journeys, it's worth asking: do we really even need one? Often, a simple pencil — consistent action — is more than enough.
* This anecdote gained fame in India after being featured in a very popular Bollywood movie, 3 Idiots.
P.S. If you're curious, the real story behind the NASA Space Pen (or Fisher Space Pen) is fascinating — and in a fitting twist, Russian cosmonauts ended up using it too!