Halo AI
2021
Product Management, UX/UI Design, AI Architecture (Vancouver, Canada)
My team pioneered a new approach to brain-state augmentation using Generative AI and Immersive Audio – then deployed it via a wellness application on iOS.
My team pioneered a new approach to brain-state augmentation using Generative AI and Immersive Audio – then deployed it via a wellness application on iOS.
There is a growing need to address the stress, anxiety and general dysregulation experienced by many worldwide. Over 70% of the global population reports that stress affects both their physical and mental health in a significant way. Known solutions like therapy, medication, and other esoteric methods have played a necessary role but generally take a highly interventionist approach. We saw an opportunity to deliver a personalized and adaptive solution that placed the individual in the pilot seat—allowing them to achieve a target neurological state by leveraging the emerging capabilities of Generative AI and Immersive Audio.
TLDR:
We built Halo on leading neuroscience research into brain wave states and their correlation to particular valence and arousal outcomes. I led the team as CEO, designed the UX/UI, and co-created the Halo engine with our dev team.
We found that you could target specific Alpha, Beta, and Theta wave states and used a combination of generative compositions, immersive soundscapes, and binaural sound waves to entrain the user's brain to the target state. To achieve this, we developed a proprietary generative engine that utilized ClusterGAN, sequence interpolation, and other clever tricks such as the symbolic representation of composition data. We built it so that it could run on-device on iOS, which was a trip!
Our UX/UI incorporated a unique approach to gathering a user's present valence and arousal (VA) state. We roadmaped the ability to gather sensory data inputs from mobile and wearables to enable the automatic and adaptive guidance of the engine. We prioritized building so as not to require any hardware outside of what the user may already have on hand (iPhone, Apple Watch, etc). Halo was unique in the market in that it took a person from their present VA state (ie. tired) to their target state (ie. relaxed-focus) through a personalized and adaptive journey. Where all other offerings in the space simply stream pre-recorded audio content, each journey in Halo is unique to the specific user and to their desired physiological outcome.
One fundamental innovation that we achieved was bestowing an Ai engine with the ability to 'understand' a human's physiological state. With this, we could deliver a personalized experience that was responsive and adaptive. It's my view that this is an essential and often overlooked aspect of what is necessary for the further development of AGI. Emotional Intelligence (EQ) is fundamental to the deep humanity required for a transformative therapeutic relationship and essential to the future of AI development in this space.
TLDR:
The beta version of Halo was released in Q2 of 2021 on iOS with a subscription-based monetization model. We were able to achieve a 19% conversion rate and positive retention. Although it was only V.1 of the Halo engine, we received positive app-store reviews, scaled our subscriber base, secured government innovation funding, brought in pre-seed funding, and established a research trial for the validation of efficacy within therapeutic contexts.
TLDR:
In the Spring of 2021, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer and began treatment. Then in the Fall of 2021, my father received the diagnosis of an aggressive form of acute myeloid leukaemia which would eventually take his life on April 15th, 2022. As a company we were coming to the end of our runway, in the thick of Covid, and were needing to raise a larger seed round. The concurrence of these events and the need of my mother for a caregiver while my father was undergoing aggressive treatment in hospital led me to the difficult decision to step back from my role in Spliqs/Halo.
Developing Halo AI and leading the Spliqs team fanned the flame that was already in me for building tech to support human flourishing. It set the foundation for my planned Ph.D. work in AI, led to fundamental innovations in the AI/Wellness industries, and provided irreplaceable experience in leading teams at an executive level. I gained deeper insights into successfully taking digital products to market and ultimately learnt how to navigate with resilience in a storm of immense existential complexity.
References:
https://www.precedenceresearch.com/health-and-wellness-market#:~:text=The%20global%20health%20and%20wellness,5.5%25%20from%202021%20to%202030.
