How AI is Poised to Rewire the Foundations of Medicine
At Web Summit Vancouver, experts speaking on the panel “A History of the Future of Healthcare” delivered a striking message: medicine is moving faster than ever, but it’s not fast enough.
This paradox set the stage for a discussion about the transformation of healthcare via artificial intelligence (AI).
While many industries have been completely revolutionized by technology, the healthcare sector has often lagged, clinging to outdated practices. However, the participants agreed that AI is beginning to change that narrative, offering promising solutions and a glimpse into a future of personalized, efficient and proactive care.
The healthcare status quo is cracking
As mentioned, panelists noted that while technology has transformed nearly every sector of modern life, healthcare still largely operates on practices that have seen little change for decades.
“The moment of physician-to-patient interaction, the physical examination, literally has hardly changed in the past 200 years,” said moderator Ohad Arazi, setting the stage for a talk about what healthcare could look like in 2030.
“Of course, many things in healthcare have changed, but it’s been a very slow slog. And yet we see that the pace of change, the pace of adoption of innovation on both therapeutics and diagnostics, is accelerating.”
Lu Zhang, founder of Fusion Fund, highlighted that healthcare is now entering its “prime time for innovation,” emphasizing that the core goal for the future is to “improve the quality of life, to really enable the future of healthcare to be personalized … and also be able to do super early diagnostics and reduce the healthcare burden in the long term.”
AI as a catalyst for regenerative and personalized medicine
Zhang pointed to advances in AI-powered digital diagnostics for conditions like cancer, heart disease and mental health, citing the recent launch of the Arc Institute’s Evo 2 AI model, designed to understand and generate genetic code.
Arc researchers recently published a preprint showing that their gene-editing technology can implement broad alterations to the human genome, something not achievable with other gene-editing techniques.
She also mentioned the promise of new digital therapeutics and regenerative medicine, noting a recent exhibition where researchers showcased 3 centimeters of beating heart tissue created from iPS cells.
These kinds of innovations could transform how practitioners approach health and wellness. Eric Hoskins, partner at Maverix Private Equity, offered a more cautious but ultimately optimistic perspective, identifying AI-guided personalized medicine as one of the “fast movers” poised to bring an abrupt and immediate change to healthcare.
However, the consensus was that challenges remain, particularly when it comes to navigating the regulatory landscape and addressing persistent data…
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