Asheville Institutefor Memory & Longevity
Helping Western North Carolina live, learn, and age well.
AIML is a charitable and educational nonprofit advancing education, brain health, and healthy aging — through free community programs and university partnerships.
Education
AI in Education
Open-source tools built with UNC Asheville, promoting curricula and engineering paradigms that keep humans in the loop.
Community
Brain Health & Healthy Aging
Free, evidence-based programs for older adults and caregivers across the Asheville area.
Technology
Responsible Technology
Helping local partners translate useful technologies into practical education and wellness programs.
Education Initiative
Engineering us in.
AI should enhance human planning, not replace it. We help educators develop engineering curricula that keep humans in the loop with specification-driven skills used by professional engineers.
Dr. Mark Dranias presents at the brAIn Hub AI Summit, June 2026.
Preprint
Human-in-the-Loop Control of Objective Drift
A framework for maintaining instructional alignment in LLM-assisted computer science education.
Read on arXiv →Partnership
UNCA & WCU pilot study
A signed pilot study of human-in-the-loop agentic programming instruction, run with UNC Asheville and Western Carolina University, with the classroom pilot running in Fall 2026. Collaborators: Bill Yang, Yanjun Yan, and Adam Whitley. A broader multi-site study follows.
For faculty
Join the multi-site study
Building on our current UNCA and WCU pilot, AIML is gathering institutions for a multi-site study of human-in-the-loop CS education. Partner sites receive tools, training, privacy-protecting telemetry, and study-design support, provided at or below cost. We're glad to discuss what participation involves.
Express interest →Free Community Programs
Brain health and healthy aging, for everyone.
Research shows that exercise, social connection, cognitive engagement, and stress management can build resilience and may delay the onset of cognitive impairment. AIML brings that science to older adults, caregivers, and lifelong learners across the Asheville area — always free of charge.
Community talks & partnerships
Free sessions on brain aging and cognitive resilience, hosted with local libraries, churches, wellness groups, and senior organizations. Led by a neuroscientist and Alzheimer's Association certified community educator.
Request a talkAging Well peer group — enrolling now
A free monthly small group practicing the habits that protect memory — modeled on the NIH-funded U.S. POINTER study.
Ask to joinOpen educational materials
Session materials, facilitator guides, and handouts published under an open license, so any community organization can adapt them — including our Graceful Stretch brain-healthy movement handout.
Browse materials on GitHub
A community brain-health luncheon, 2026.
Questions? Call us.
(828) 290-2002Or write to admin@avlml.org. We're happy to speak to your community group.
Responsible Technology
Technology in service of people.
AIML helps the community find and use responsible technology — curating trustworthy open-source software, and exploring wearable tools that support health and wellbeing. Early-stage work; we welcome local collaborators.
Curated software
A curated open-source software library — in development
We are assembling a curated distribution of trustworthy, accessible open-source tools that support education, wellness, healthy aging, and community resilience — vetted and explained in plain language.
Under construction — launching Q3 2026Wearables
Autonomic nervous system wearables — seeking collaborators
We are exploring wearable sensing of autonomic nervous system activity — heart rhythm and physiological stress signals — to help people, including those managing serious illness, understand stress, recovery, and resilience. We are seeking local healthcare and engineering collaborators to shape this work.
Collaborate with us →The name says it twice
AIML stands for the Asheville Institute for Memory and Longevity — and for AI and machine learning. Founded by scientists and engineers, we work on both sides of that name: protecting memory and healthy aging in the community, and keeping human judgment in the loop of AI. Technology should serve human minds, not sideline them.
Upcoming
Events & campaigns
Thru Sep 16
Biltmore Birdies for Charity
Donate $20+ in AIML's name, guess the number of birdies at the Biltmore Championship, and you could win The Ultimate Biltmore Experience. 100% of your gift reaches AIML, plus bonus-pool matching.
Sep 18, online
Medium Day 2026 — AI: Hype, Reality & Writing
Dr. Mark Dranias joins a panel of writers, builders, and researchers to discuss how people are making sense of rapid change in AI and technology. Fri, Sep 18, 2026, 10:30–11:30 AM EDT, online.
Monthly
Aging Well peer group
Free structured small-group program for older adults, modeled on the U.S. POINTER study. Now enrolling.
Founding members
Every program we run is free. Your gift keeps it that way.
AIML is a 501(c)(3) public charity (EIN 41-3778847). Contributions are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law and directly fund free brain-health programs and open education tools for Western North Carolina.