As artificial intelligence advances at a rapid pace, it provokes both excitement and concerns. There are understandable questions on a number of issues ranging from the threat to jobs to the possibility of machines escaping human control. Yet its potential to improve lives is increasingly irrefutable – and nowhere is this more profound than in the fields of medical research and health care.
Recent developments in the UAE illustrate what is possible. UK-based pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, which relies heavily on AI and other technologies in its work, is investing $50 million in about 30 clinical trials with Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, targeting cardiovascular, renal and metabolic diseases. It is also collaborating with American tech giant Oracle and M42, the Abu Dhabi-based tech-enabled healthcare company, to explore how AI and real-world medical data can improve hypertension diagnosis, recruitment for clinical trials and safety monitoring.
Elsewhere, M42 has introduced Ossi, an AI platform designed to reduce doctors’ administrative burdens and give them more time with patients. By summarising medical histories and supporting clinical documentation, the system could help doctors focus exclusively on the person sitting in front of them.
Research offers possibilities that are just as compelling. American biotech company Insilico Medicine, with scientists based in Masdar City, is using AI to identify potential treatments for blood cancer and develop a non-opioid pain killer. Clinical testing is, no doubt, necessary before their safety and effectiveness can be established, but AI’s ability to speed up the discovery of new drugs is promising.
Technology is having an impact on preventive care, too. The Abu Dhabi Department of Health’s Project Cradle will study whether wearable smart rings can identify warning signs of premature birth among high-risk pregnancies. Another partnership, between the department and US-based wearable tech company Whoop, will explore sleep, cardiovascular health and ageing. Such initiatives are important as they anticipate illness, thereby helping people avoid possible later-stage complications and expensive treatments.
All of these developments are coinciding with technology’s increasing ability to streamline public services and business operations. Oracle’s latest agentic AI systems, which take on complex tasks ranging from supply chains to shipping to restaurants, are a case in point. But when it comes to health care, the stakes are much higher.
Of course, digitisation carries with it privacy and security-related risks with heightened cybersecurity attacks. Digital systems must, therefore, be equipped with stronger safeguards to protect sensitive medical information and maintain clinical oversight. They should also remain accessible to people with limited digital literacy.
Accessibility should also mean ensuring that the benefits of the aforementioned advances do not become the preserve of wealthy patients and those with comprehensive health insurance. To achieve this, governments and insurance providers will need to make equitable access a central principle of health tech innovation.
Medical progress should not be measured simply by how fast a drug is discovered, but also by how many people benefit from it – regardless of their socioeconomic status or where they live. Advances will really count when we can measure human lives saved or improved by the incredible technological leaps being made.
