You may recognize the name Vanessa Saunders. She’s a prolific commentator who has crafted a number of informative articles appearing in The Data Advocate. She writes beautifully with a magical poetic pen. And she’s a maverick when it comes to critical issues like affordable housing, mental health, AI and more.
Let me quote from her latest blog post concerning ALZHEIMER’S — https://livewithmim.org/
DOES THIS ONE HIT HOME WITH YOU?
🧠 Dear Zuck: You Missed a Spot – MiM isn’t your grandma’s reminder app
AI is teaching machines to think. I’m teaching mine to help my husband remember who I am.
Tech’s biggest brains are chasing one thing:
Smarter AI.
Meta just dropped $32 billion on it. OpenAI’s raising billions more. Everyone’s building the next artificial Einstein.
Meanwhile?
My husband was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.
And not one of you—not one—has built a tool to help him get through the day.
No plan. No path. No system.
Just fear, pamphlets, and an ever-narrowing world.
So I did what any woman who’s been underestimated most of her life would do:
I started building one myself.
It’s called MiM – Memory in Motion.
MiM isn’t about decline. It’s about persistence.
It’s a life support system—disguised as a daily app.
MiM helps people in the early stages of Alzheimer’s (we call them Travelers) stay grounded in their routines, their identity, their dignity.
It keeps family members connected—without spying, infantilizing, or shaming.
No tracking dashboards. No cartoon buttons. No “Oops! You forgot again!”
Just gentle structure, positive cues, and AI that lifts instead of limits.
And guess what?
It’s working.
Tim—my husband—is writing again. He’s sticking to a routine.
He even joked last week:
“I may have Alzheimer’s, but Alzheimer’s hasn’t got me.”
(He may well have heard that on TV—but it landed. And it stuck.)
That’s the mission.
So, Mark Zuckerberg—and Andrew Bosworth while we’re at it:
While you’re all focused on making AI think, some of us are using it to help people remember who they are.
You acquired Instagram to own the image.
WhatsApp to own the conversation.
Oculus to own the future.
Why not acquire something to help people stay present?
A note to anyone else listening:
📢 Journalists looking for a human story in the AI noise.
💸 Investors done funding reminders in disguise.
🧬 AI-health believers who know that cognition isn’t a luxury.
I built MiM for Tim. But we’re building it now—for millions.
Because AI shouldn’t just be smart.
It should be human.
—
Vanessa Saunders (Grandma)
Founder, MiM (Memory in Motion)
vanessa@livewithmim.org
Thanks for being part of Memory in Motion.
Explore more at LiveWithMiM.org — where Travelers and Supporters stay connected.
Follow Tim’s journey at Life After an AD Diagnosis for real stories from the road we’re walking together.
Still here.
Still us.
Still moving forward.
5 Responses
so good
Thank you so much, Victor. Coming from you, that’s like catching the perfect wave—we’re early in the swell, but we feel the momentum building.
MiM was created out of crisis, but we’re aiming for a sea change in how Alzheimer’s care is approached: less doom, more dignity; less data extraction, more human connection.
Would love to ride this conversation further when the tide aligns. 🌊
Love what Vanessa is doing. We in real estate all claim to be helping people, but really not so much. This enterprise truly is making the world a bit better. Happy to support in any way that I can.
Ruth, thank you. Your words mean the world—especially coming from someone who knows just how much of real estate’s “helping” is more hat than cattle.
MiM might not fit the usual mold, but that’s the point. We’re building something that actually helps, from the inside out—not just for show. I’d love to loop you in as this unfolds, because it’s going to take bold voices like yours to keep the pressure on (and the humanity in).
Let’s keep making the world a bit better—together. 💜
Excellent! I love this. You know it’s a great solution when you find yourself thinking, ‘How has something like this not existed already (or even 10 years ago)?’ Leave it to my girl Vanessa to break new ground, though, and I’m fully supportive.