The "Wait and See" Era of Cognitive Decline Is Over

This article originally appeared on Linked In.

By Daniel Kelly and Babak Parviz

We led the team that invented Google Glass, took Amazon into healthcare, and helped build surgical robotics that's now saving lives worldwide. After decades at the forefront of technology, we could have chosen any problem to solve next. We chose to tackle cognitive decline - not because it's the easiest challenge, but because it's the most urgent. When one-third of Americans over 65 face serious cognitive issues and are told "there's nothing we can do," that's exactly when transformative technology must step in.

And it's deeply personal to us. Daniel’s father is one of six children, five of which have dementia. Babak's father battled Alzheimer's for years. We've seen how much of who we are is defined by how we remember and reason, and when these abilities start to fade, it feels like we're fading away too. The emotional, health, and financial toll is devastating - not just for patients, but for entire families.

The Scale of the Crisis

You probably know this intuitively in your own life - how many people you know are touched in some way by dementia or cognitive decline? The numbers nationally are staggering, we are talking about 10s of millions of people. One-third of seniors face serious cognitive issues: 11% have dementia, and another 22% have mild cognitive impairment. Healthcare costs are three times higher for those with dementia. The global aging population is creating unprecedented demand for solutions.

The real tragedy? We've normalized hopelessness when hope actually exists.

The Hidden Truth: Effective Interventions Already Exist

Here's what most people don't know: over 300 randomized controlled clinical trials prove that cognitive interventions work, and they're all based on a fundamental principle that changes everything: brain plasticity.

Consider what happens when someone has a stroke. Some neurons die, and the person may lose their ability to speak normally. But after working with a speech therapist for months, they often regain that ability completely. How is this possible if those neurons are permanently dead? The answer is neuroplasticity, the brain's remarkable ability to rewire itself and move functions from damaged areas to healthy regions.

Your brain is not done. It's constantly changing, adapting, forming new connections throughout your entire life, at any age. Just as you can strengthen specific muscle groups at the gym, you can exercise your brain to strengthen cognitive abilities like memory, attention, and problem-solving.

The clinical evidence is overwhelming. The I-CONECT study, led by Professor Hiroko Dodge at Harvard University, showed that regular conversational engagement (a form of cognitive stimulation) significantly improved cognitive function and processing speed in socially isolated adults over six months. The landmark ACTIVE trial showed benefits of cognitive training lasting a full decade. Global health organizations, from the WHO to the NHS, recommend these approaches as first-line treatments. These interventions do not cure the disease but can meaningfully help people that face cognitive changes to improve their cognitive performance, improve their quality of life, and in best cases push back the symptoms of the disease by months or longer.  

The problem isn't efficacy; it's access and scalability. All of these treatments use some form of conversational therapy. Reaching the many people who could benefit would require millions of trained professionals delivering highly personalized, high-frequency interventions. Until now, that was impossible.

The Artificial Intelligence Breakthrough Moment

The recent generative AI revolution created capabilities that simply didn't exist two or three years ago. This breakthrough converged with our personal journey - from identifying the problem during Babak's extensive research into aging populations at Amazon to recognizing the technological solution that could finally scale proven therapies.

NewDays holds exclusive rights to the I-CONECT study methodology used to train our AI system. We're moving 95% of the work to AI while maintaining expert clinical oversight. Our early results speak for themselves: 4.8 out of 5 customer satisfaction scores in beta testing with every participant in our Early Access Program saying they feel a little or a lot better after using the service. 

This is AI as a force for good. Not replacing human connection, but democratizing access to life-changing treatment. For the first time, evidence-based cognitive therapy can reach millions, not just hundreds.

The Paradigm Shift We Need

We're advocating for a fundamental transformation in how we approach cognitive health for our seniors:

From "wait and see" → "act now"
From "cure" → "prevention and maintenance"
From "disability" → "re-enablement and maintaining independence"

We're moving from a world where cognitive decline meant inevitable loss to one where people can take meaningful action. The science is proven. The technology is ready. What we need now is a shift from passive acceptance to proactive engagement.

Consider this: when someone has a heart attack, we don't tell them to "get their affairs in order." We immediately deploy proven interventions: medications, procedures, rehabilitation. Yet when someone receives a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment, they're often sent home with vague advice about diet and exercise, leaving them feeling helpless.

This disparity is unacceptable. The research shows that while cognitive stimulation, training, and rehabilitation do not cure neurodegenerative disease, they can meaningfully impact outcomes and quality of life. We need to be equally proactive when dealing with cognitive change. 

A Personal Mission Becomes Universal Hope

Every morning when we wake up to work on NewDays, we're not just building a company, we're honoring the millions of families who've been told there's nothing that can be done. We're working for the patients who deserve more than false hope or no hope at all.

Our technology doesn't promise to cure dementia but our mission is equally valuable: the ability to maintain independence longer, stay connected to loved ones, and continue living meaningful lives despite cognitive changes.

The tools to change millions of lives exist today. It's time to abandon everything we thought we knew about the inevitability of cognitive decline. The science has moved beyond the old days of "wait and see.”

The NewDays have arrived.

Babak Parviz is the CEO and co-founder of NewDays.ai. Daniel Kelly is the CIO and co-founder of NewDays.ai.