WEBVTT 00:00.000 --> 00:02.900 Saturday, half past seven in the evening. 00:03.760 --> 00:06.060 Tom Ash and I had popped out for a couple of hours. 00:06.760 --> 00:11.280 Basher, five, running a temperature, 38.2. 00:12.280 --> 00:15.060 Your mum, Eljabieta, was minding the children. 00:16.280 --> 00:19.720 And your mum goes to the drawer for the fever syrup. 00:20.680 --> 00:22.180 She picks up my phone, 00:22.880 --> 00:25.620 the one with the children's medicine reminders set on it, 00:26.200 --> 00:27.520 because it had just buzzed. 00:27.520 --> 00:32.040 And on the notification, before she'd opened anything, 00:32.920 --> 00:33.720 one line. 00:34.940 --> 00:38.760 Warning. Allergy to this medicine. Basher. 00:40.440 --> 00:44.940 Hello. I'm Tomasz Schuster. I built the Mojapteczka app. 00:45.600 --> 00:48.320 And what Isas just described actually happened. 00:49.040 --> 00:52.460 And today I want to take that one scene apart. 00:53.100 --> 00:55.900 Because it had me wondering straight away. 00:55.900 --> 00:59.660 How did the phone know Basher was allergic? 01:00.880 --> 01:01.420 It didn't. 01:02.180 --> 01:02.720 You knew. 01:03.220 --> 01:04.220 Three weeks earlier. 01:05.160 --> 01:06.200 Well, yes. 01:06.940 --> 01:10.340 Because Basher came out in a rash once after ibuprofen. 01:11.200 --> 01:14.360 Only slight, but the paediatrician said it plainly. 01:15.000 --> 01:15.900 Write this down. 01:16.280 --> 01:16.980 It's an allergy. 01:17.620 --> 01:18.540 Keep it on record. 01:18.540 --> 01:21.080 And you did write it down. 01:21.960 --> 01:23.660 In the app, against that medicine, 01:24.100 --> 01:26.100 there's an option, flag allergy. 01:27.000 --> 01:29.660 You put in Basher ibuprofen. 01:30.200 --> 01:31.020 That's all. 01:31.960 --> 01:32.480 I remember. 01:33.180 --> 01:36.200 It was literally a few seconds in the waiting room. 01:37.040 --> 01:37.980 I open the medicine, 01:38.540 --> 01:40.080 tap flag allergy, 01:40.860 --> 01:41.600 choose Basher, 01:42.200 --> 01:43.260 type in the substance, 01:43.840 --> 01:44.400 and done. 01:44.400 --> 01:46.980 And that's the whole trick. 01:47.920 --> 01:50.280 Because if it were ten screens and a form, 01:50.920 --> 01:52.620 nobody'd do it right at the moment 01:52.620 --> 01:54.540 they've got a poorly child on their lap. 01:55.660 --> 01:57.560 So the app didn't diagnose anything? 01:58.620 --> 01:58.920 No. 01:59.640 --> 02:01.400 And that's the most important sentence 02:01.400 --> 02:03.260 in this whole episode for me. 02:03.820 --> 02:06.440 The app doesn't decide that someone's allergic. 02:07.100 --> 02:08.200 The doctor did that, 02:08.500 --> 02:10.000 and a person typed it in. 02:10.000 --> 02:12.520 The app only remembers, 02:13.120 --> 02:14.120 and reminds you, 02:14.320 --> 02:14.900 at the moment, 02:15.080 --> 02:16.380 it's easiest to forget. 02:16.760 --> 02:17.000 Right. 02:17.120 --> 02:18.860 But here's the bit I don't get. 02:19.520 --> 02:20.920 The box your mum reached for 02:20.920 --> 02:22.820 was a completely different brand 02:22.820 --> 02:24.680 from the one that gave Basher the rash. 02:25.260 --> 02:26.100 Different name, 02:26.240 --> 02:26.940 different logo. 02:27.820 --> 02:29.180 How does the app know it's 02:29.180 --> 02:30.780 the same medicine? 02:31.200 --> 02:33.320 And this is my favourite part. 02:33.840 --> 02:35.480 Because the app doesn't look 02:35.480 --> 02:36.980 at the name on the box. 02:36.980 --> 02:40.260 It looks at the active ingredient inside. 02:41.380 --> 02:43.740 You record the allergy against ibuprofen, 02:44.460 --> 02:47.340 and ibuprofen sits in several different boxes 02:47.340 --> 02:49.260 under several different brands. 02:50.120 --> 02:52.000 The app peeks underneath. 02:52.840 --> 02:54.780 If it recognises the same substance, 02:55.140 --> 02:55.960 it flags it, 02:56.420 --> 02:57.920 whatever the brand on the box. 02:58.600 --> 03:00.580 So, a different box, 03:00.960 --> 03:02.060 the same substance. 03:02.760 --> 03:03.280 Exactly. 03:03.880 --> 03:05.280 And it's no small thing, 03:05.280 --> 03:06.940 because that's exactly 03:06.940 --> 03:08.960 when it's easiest to slip up. 03:09.800 --> 03:11.780 You buy something for a temperature 03:11.780 --> 03:13.040 under a new name, 03:13.300 --> 03:14.900 and you don't connect it in your head 03:14.900 --> 03:16.840 with a rash from a month ago. 03:17.080 --> 03:18.760 Because I wouldn't have connected it. 03:19.520 --> 03:21.280 The rash one was in a pink box, 03:21.780 --> 03:22.860 and the one from the drawer, 03:23.400 --> 03:23.780 white, 03:24.160 --> 03:24.940 different company. 03:25.820 --> 03:26.340 To me, 03:26.480 --> 03:28.240 they were two different medicines. 03:28.800 --> 03:29.540 And to the app, 03:29.820 --> 03:30.960 they were one substance. 03:31.780 --> 03:32.920 But honestly, 03:32.920 --> 03:35.180 there's an important word here. 03:36.500 --> 03:37.020 Recognises. 03:37.700 --> 03:38.920 It's not magic. 03:39.680 --> 03:40.500 The app matches 03:40.500 --> 03:42.100 on the name of the substance, 03:42.480 --> 03:43.500 and on its code, 03:43.760 --> 03:44.480 if it knows it. 03:45.200 --> 03:46.220 It tries its best, 03:46.560 --> 03:47.500 but it's not a guarantee 03:47.500 --> 03:49.180 for every possible way 03:49.180 --> 03:51.120 it might be written in the world. 03:51.440 --> 03:53.480 So, it doesn't let me off 03:53.480 --> 03:54.240 reading the packet? 03:54.660 --> 03:55.300 It doesn't. 03:55.800 --> 03:57.680 It's a second pair of eyes, 03:57.980 --> 03:58.940 not the only pair. 03:58.940 --> 04:01.740 It's still you looking at the box. 04:02.400 --> 04:04.320 The app just raises a hand 04:04.320 --> 04:06.060 when it recognises something. 04:06.400 --> 04:06.680 Right. 04:06.980 --> 04:08.380 Now, tell me honestly. 04:09.020 --> 04:10.600 If it's that clever, 04:11.280 --> 04:12.260 does it know 04:12.260 --> 04:14.880 everything that's dangerous for Basher? 04:15.420 --> 04:16.140 No. 04:16.800 --> 04:19.200 And I really want that to land, 04:19.760 --> 04:21.420 because it's an honest limit. 04:21.420 --> 04:23.700 The app warns about 04:23.700 --> 04:25.100 exactly what you entered, 04:25.640 --> 04:27.000 and about the same substance 04:27.000 --> 04:28.000 in other boxes. 04:28.760 --> 04:30.140 But it doesn't guess 04:30.140 --> 04:32.280 about whole families of medicines 04:32.280 --> 04:34.000 it hasn't been told about. 04:34.420 --> 04:34.800 Meaning? 04:35.160 --> 04:35.520 Meaning, 04:35.780 --> 04:37.060 if you enter one substance, 04:37.540 --> 04:39.180 the app won't assume on its own 04:39.180 --> 04:40.220 that some other, 04:40.600 --> 04:41.400 related medicine 04:41.400 --> 04:42.520 is dangerous too. 04:43.520 --> 04:44.700 Joining those dots 04:44.700 --> 04:45.480 is for the GP 04:45.480 --> 04:46.620 or the pharmacist. 04:47.120 --> 04:48.200 The app doesn't pretend 04:48.200 --> 04:48.780 to be them. 04:48.780 --> 04:51.580 So it doesn't second-guess the doctor? 04:52.200 --> 04:52.740 It doesn't. 04:53.260 --> 04:55.280 And I'd rather it left something unsaid 04:55.280 --> 04:56.560 than made something up 04:56.560 --> 04:57.900 and gave you a false sense 04:57.900 --> 04:58.920 that it's all been checked. 04:59.480 --> 05:00.600 A modest truth 05:00.600 --> 05:02.080 beats a confident mistake. 05:02.740 --> 05:03.100 Right. 05:03.400 --> 05:05.000 That does sound honest. 05:05.660 --> 05:06.820 Because most apps 05:06.820 --> 05:07.540 do the opposite. 05:08.340 --> 05:09.660 They fake a certainty 05:09.660 --> 05:10.700 they haven't got. 05:10.980 --> 05:12.640 And there's a second honest thing. 05:13.260 --> 05:14.640 The app will never 05:14.640 --> 05:15.880 block giving a medicine. 05:15.880 --> 05:17.540 The rule's simple. 05:18.180 --> 05:18.500 Warn. 05:18.880 --> 05:19.580 Don't block. 05:20.160 --> 05:20.680 Hang on. 05:21.040 --> 05:22.220 Why doesn't it block? 05:22.500 --> 05:23.940 If it can see the allergy? 05:24.700 --> 05:25.460 Because sometimes 05:25.460 --> 05:26.460 you've got a good reason 05:26.460 --> 05:27.720 to keep a medicine for someone. 05:28.180 --> 05:29.580 And the doctor decided that. 05:30.300 --> 05:31.100 The app isn't there 05:31.100 --> 05:32.340 to make decisions for you. 05:32.840 --> 05:33.320 It's there 05:33.320 --> 05:34.640 so you make that decision 05:34.640 --> 05:36.260 seeing the warning. 05:36.820 --> 05:38.140 Not with it off to one side. 05:38.380 --> 05:40.820 So it's not looking to stop me 05:40.820 --> 05:42.340 just to make sure 05:42.340 --> 05:43.380 I don't miss it. 05:43.760 --> 05:44.380 Nicely put. 05:44.380 --> 05:45.840 That's exactly it. 05:46.760 --> 05:48.100 So back to that Saturday. 05:48.860 --> 05:50.400 Because there's something here 05:50.400 --> 05:51.840 that really got to me. 05:52.700 --> 05:54.360 Your mum saw the warning 05:54.360 --> 05:55.340 on the notification 05:55.340 --> 05:56.800 before she'd even 05:56.800 --> 05:57.860 gone into the app. 05:58.380 --> 05:58.700 Yes. 05:59.140 --> 06:00.140 And that's the newest thing 06:00.140 --> 06:00.520 I added 06:00.520 --> 06:01.800 in the latest release. 06:02.540 --> 06:03.880 Because there used to be a problem 06:03.880 --> 06:05.740 one a user reported to me. 06:06.060 --> 06:06.820 What was it? 06:07.260 --> 06:08.300 That the allergy warning 06:08.300 --> 06:09.700 was visible in the app. 06:10.180 --> 06:11.040 Against the medicine. 06:11.360 --> 06:12.000 On the list. 06:12.220 --> 06:12.880 In the reminder. 06:12.880 --> 06:15.020 But the notification itself 06:15.020 --> 06:16.620 showed only the medicine's name 06:16.620 --> 06:17.300 and the dose. 06:17.900 --> 06:19.300 Not a word about the allergy. 06:20.000 --> 06:22.220 So if someone didn't go inside. 06:22.660 --> 06:23.560 They might not see it. 06:23.940 --> 06:25.500 And a notification is exactly 06:25.500 --> 06:27.620 the moment you're not in the app. 06:27.980 --> 06:29.020 You're standing in the kitchen. 06:29.360 --> 06:30.400 The child's got a temperature. 06:30.740 --> 06:31.500 The phone buzzes. 06:31.880 --> 06:33.120 So I moved the warning 06:33.120 --> 06:35.020 to the very top of the notification. 06:35.500 --> 06:36.500 First thing you see. 06:36.860 --> 06:37.740 And it stays there. 06:37.740 --> 06:39.200 Even if someone snoozes 06:39.200 --> 06:40.220 the reminder for later. 06:40.780 --> 06:42.160 And on a locked phone. 06:42.480 --> 06:43.680 Can you see it too? 06:44.100 --> 06:46.260 That depends on your notification preview 06:46.260 --> 06:47.180 setting on the phone. 06:47.680 --> 06:48.860 The app doesn't decide that. 06:49.000 --> 06:49.740 The system does. 06:50.180 --> 06:51.300 If you've got previews on. 06:51.520 --> 06:53.220 You'll see it even without unlocking. 06:53.720 --> 06:54.740 I don't override that. 06:55.120 --> 06:55.760 The point is. 06:55.900 --> 06:57.920 The warnings in the notification itself. 06:58.220 --> 07:00.040 Not tucked away deep in the app. 07:00.420 --> 07:01.400 And with the name. 07:01.860 --> 07:02.500 With the name. 07:02.960 --> 07:03.280 Warning. 07:03.720 --> 07:04.820 Allergy to this medicine. 07:05.200 --> 07:05.520 Basher. 07:05.520 --> 07:07.620 So it's clear who it's about. 07:08.060 --> 07:09.260 Because that's the second thing 07:09.260 --> 07:10.680 hardly anyone thinks of. 07:11.040 --> 07:11.220 Right. 07:11.640 --> 07:13.820 How does the app know it's about Basher? 07:14.100 --> 07:14.840 Not Leon. 07:15.400 --> 07:17.460 Because allergies are attached to the person. 07:17.980 --> 07:19.820 Everyone in the family has their own list. 07:20.260 --> 07:21.240 That was Basher's allergy. 07:21.580 --> 07:22.500 On Basher's reminder. 07:23.040 --> 07:24.580 If the same reminder were for Leon. 07:24.900 --> 07:26.020 Who doesn't have that allergy. 07:26.500 --> 07:28.020 No warning would come up at all. 07:28.440 --> 07:28.920 Hang on. 07:29.260 --> 07:30.700 So the same medicine. 07:31.140 --> 07:32.120 The same shelf. 07:32.440 --> 07:33.140 Two children. 07:33.140 --> 07:36.620 And the app behaves differently for each of them. 07:37.020 --> 07:37.480 Differently. 07:37.880 --> 07:38.940 Because it's not asking. 07:39.260 --> 07:40.260 What medicine is this? 07:40.460 --> 07:42.160 But who's this reminder for? 07:42.560 --> 07:44.420 And does that person have this allergy? 07:44.980 --> 07:46.620 Leon gets a clean notification. 07:47.080 --> 07:47.420 Basher. 07:47.800 --> 07:48.460 One with a warning. 07:48.960 --> 07:51.100 So the warning follows the person. 07:51.480 --> 07:52.380 Not the medicine. 07:52.920 --> 07:53.440 The person. 07:53.840 --> 07:56.180 And it's not the app deciding the medicine's dangerous. 07:56.680 --> 07:59.800 It only shows that you recorded a warning against this person. 08:00.140 --> 08:01.180 And not against another. 08:01.180 --> 08:03.680 And now a real life question. 08:04.340 --> 08:07.100 That evening our kitchen might have had no signal. 08:07.600 --> 08:08.220 What then? 08:08.440 --> 08:09.020 Nothing changes. 08:09.800 --> 08:11.800 The warning works off what's saved on the phone. 08:12.140 --> 08:13.120 It doesn't need a network. 08:13.700 --> 08:15.180 It'll work even if you're in the cellar. 08:15.360 --> 08:17.000 Or out at the allotment with no signal. 08:17.700 --> 08:20.180 And if I'd entered the allergy on my phone. 08:20.680 --> 08:22.200 And you were the one with Basher. 08:22.560 --> 08:25.080 That's because we share one family medicine cabinet. 08:25.540 --> 08:27.240 When you save something on your phone. 08:27.420 --> 08:28.320 I've got it on mine. 08:28.640 --> 08:30.020 It syncs between our accounts. 08:30.020 --> 08:32.720 Including if I deleted the allergy. 08:33.360 --> 08:34.320 Including a deletion. 08:34.680 --> 08:37.400 That one was a separate boring bit of work underneath. 08:38.120 --> 08:41.080 Making a deletion on one device really vanish on the other. 08:41.540 --> 08:43.300 Rather than come back like a ghost. 08:43.820 --> 08:46.060 But that's a topic for another evening. 08:46.060 --> 08:48.160 I'll take your word for it. 08:49.260 --> 08:51.640 There's one more thing I want you to mention. 08:52.300 --> 08:54.640 Because it's not just the notification. 08:55.440 --> 08:56.720 You mean the report for the GP? 08:57.560 --> 08:57.940 Yes. 08:58.620 --> 09:00.540 Because when I take Basher to the doctor. 09:01.020 --> 09:03.400 I don't remember everything anyway. 09:03.400 --> 09:08.060 Allergies go right to the top of the report you can show or send to the doctor. 09:08.560 --> 09:09.700 Split by person. 09:10.060 --> 09:12.760 So the doctor doesn't have to drag it out of you in a rush. 09:13.100 --> 09:14.600 It's there in black and white. 09:15.040 --> 09:15.920 Right at the start. 09:16.460 --> 09:18.540 Because you know how it is at an appointment. 09:19.340 --> 09:20.120 Five minutes. 09:20.380 --> 09:21.400 The child's crying. 09:21.840 --> 09:23.960 The doctor asks allergic to anything. 09:24.660 --> 09:27.480 And in all that stress you remember half of it. 09:27.980 --> 09:28.360 Exactly. 09:29.080 --> 09:31.640 And it's not that the report replaces that conversation. 09:32.160 --> 09:33.820 It just organises it. 09:34.480 --> 09:37.480 The GP still decides but starts from a written list. 09:37.840 --> 09:39.480 Not from your memory under pressure. 09:40.100 --> 09:41.740 And one more thing I've seen. 09:42.240 --> 09:44.900 When I tick off that a dose has been given. 09:45.580 --> 09:46.600 For a person with an allergy. 09:47.100 --> 09:50.020 The app asks you to confirm you're aware of that allergy. 09:50.020 --> 09:52.900 That's the one moment it's a bit more insistent. 09:53.260 --> 09:55.960 Because giving a dose is the most serious step. 09:56.600 --> 09:57.160 So again. 09:57.580 --> 09:58.680 It doesn't block. 09:59.220 --> 10:01.340 It just makes sure I've seen it. 10:01.420 --> 10:03.360 The same sentence all the way through. 10:04.480 --> 10:05.740 The app is memory. 10:06.620 --> 10:09.220 The knowledge is the GP and the pharmacist. 10:10.120 --> 10:13.000 You know what got to me most about that Saturday? 10:13.700 --> 10:16.440 That it wasn't the phone that saved anyone. 10:16.440 --> 10:22.700 It was that three weeks earlier I'd taken a few seconds to write something down. 10:23.440 --> 10:28.120 And the app handed it back to me at the one moment it really mattered. 10:28.120 --> 10:30.660 And that's exactly what I built it for. 10:31.300 --> 10:32.880 Not to be cleverer than the doctor. 10:33.740 --> 10:37.460 So that what you already know doesn't evaporate on a feverish evening. 10:38.000 --> 10:40.000 Then tell people where to find it. 10:40.400 --> 10:43.860 If you'd like to give it a go, that's the Moya Pteczka app. 10:44.320 --> 10:46.540 The app is free and works offline. 10:47.340 --> 10:49.160 You'll find the link in the episode description. 10:49.160 --> 10:55.780 And if you enjoyed the episode, share it with someone whose medicine cabinet at home is chaos. 10:57.020 --> 10:58.760 One more thing before we go. 10:59.360 --> 11:02.600 This podcast is made with the help of artificial intelligence. 11:03.460 --> 11:07.580 I wrote the dialogue myself, but the voices you're hearing aren't ours. 11:08.060 --> 11:10.140 They're AI-generated synthetic voices. 11:10.800 --> 11:16.560 We're telling you this straight out because we think it should be the standard for any podcast made this way. 11:17.060 --> 11:18.900 Full details are in the show notes. 11:19.160 --> 11:20.800 And in every episode description. 11:21.700 --> 11:22.780 Until next time. 11:23.620 --> 11:24.720 Until next time.