“AI is like an infant, or a new-born.”
The future of AI will be based on how we mould its environment and decide on the inputs to be given. Technology is a double-edged sword, only time can say whether it will be a good tool or bad tool. The conference was very well-organised, with eminent speakers. The knowledge we have gained over three days is invaluable. Looking forward to more.
“AI is like salt in food. […] that being there or not there, can make a huge difference.”
A debate was held on the first day of the conference which I was very excited to be a part of. We discussed the question of liability especially in the case of failed healthcare operations, or to what extent AI should be allowed to intervene or completely take over operations in healthcare.
The scenario was such that an emergency case, where a musician met with an accident, suffered an epidural haematoma and had to be rushed to hospital, was required to be operated on by Neurobot, a neurosurgical AI system, which was to assume full control over the operation. Surgery was carried out without consent.
The patient had survived the operation, however with paralysis of the right arm. So the debate was whether the AI company should have been held liable, or whether even without consent, saving the life of a patient was enough reason to address the need of the hour and proceed with surgery.
My personal stance is that AI is like salt in food. You add salt to make your food taste better, but it is not essential. At the same time, that being there or not there can make a huge difference. AI should be used, but it should be used diligently, carefully, with supervision.
It’s still developing and it does have a lot of scope, but it requires a lot more datasets considering that medical science and health is not very objective 9/10 times – there will be an exception to a rule and that exception can mean life or death for someone. So improving the datasets, at the same time, maintaining data privacy, is crucial to building an AI tool especially in relation to medical sciences.
A take-away from this conference is that it is so important to be up-to date with the kind of advancements that are happening, because the world is changing, we’re evolving, and change is the only constant. I think conferences like these give people a great platform to come and actually look at what’s happening in the outside world, learn what we can and make the best out of it.
Do I see myself being involved with AI in my future? Definitely. More than a choice, it’ll become an obligation in the years to come with how the health systems are evolving. I have the privilege of working on an AI-related study with Dr Amith Balachandran from Medicine, where we are trying to understand how good AI photography apps are in differentiating poisonous and look-alike non-poisonous plants.
AI and health data really interests me: seeing how technology is incorporated, and try and improve the way AI works. It has to be a global effort; it has to be all health systems trying to improve the current datasets available to try and make AI a better tool for healthcare; but I’m sure we’ll get there eventually and it’ll be an integral part of all healthcare systems.
“My perspective on AI has changed in that, I’ve realised it cannot be avoided. It has become a part and parcel of life.”
I’m currently working on rehabilitation techniques for post-stroke rehabilitation, so from my background in engineering and technology, I’m now applying my skills to this place where I would need the help of doctors. I thought attending a symposium like this would not only give me exposure to AI technology but also help me familiarise myself with medical terms and concepts.
At the growth rate of AI, there is a red alert – I came to the conference with this thought. AI is being used everywhere, and I was sceptical about it potentially replacing human control. My perspective on AI has changed in that, I’ve realised it cannot be avoided. It has become a part and parcel of life. We have to learn where to apply it, where boundaries can be placed. We should not allow AI to take the human part away.
The conference was like an awakening to me, where I saw doctors not only eager to learn about technology but are also very updated on matters themselves. I would like to thank CMC for arranging this symposium, where we had a chance to meet doctors, technology experts, as well as legal experts – establishing regulatory frameworks was an important topic discussed; it saves time and effort as well. You don’t want to work on something and later realise it should not work that way. I’m also thankful to my organisation for giving me an opportunity to be here – I had a wonderful time and a great opportunity to network; I’m very happy and glad.
“[…] understanding how doctors think, how clinicians will expect engineers to collaborate […] – these are all important to discuss”
Our research team headed by Dr Jeny Rajan, NITK, has collaborated with Dr Hannah Thomas, one of the organisers of this conference. I have a background in engineering, so I’m familiar with the tools and technologies related to AI, however this conference was related to AI in health data; I have only been working in the medical field for the last two years.
It was an enriching learning curve for me – understanding how doctors think, how clinicians will expect engineers to collaborate, and how communities can benefit – these are all important to discuss and helpful for future work. Overall, I enjoyed my experience at this symposium. CMC Vellore has a great campus, and I got to meet lots of people from different parts of India and abroad.
“I want to learn more about how we can use AI effectively to find novel drug targets and drugs for drug discovery and development.”
My doctoral work focuses on Salmonella drug resistance, the intricacies of antimicrobial resistance, and the influence of climatic change and other socioeconomic factors on AMR trends. I learned about this conference from our collaborators from CMC.
The use of AI has become increasingly significant in AMR, I want to learn more about how we can use AI effectively to find novel drug targets and drugs for drug discovery and development. There are lots of recent papers on AI in AMR research. As for my stance on AI – it is definitely booming, but external validation is needed to substantiate and regulate its usage, ethics, etc. – which is what experts from different fields, including computer science, healthcare, engineering, etc, at this conference, are here to discuss. ere to discuss.
“We’re at a point where in various fields, [AI] is performing better than humans. So it’s necessary that we try and keep up.”
I’m particularly interested in Cognition and AI, which was a session covered by Dr AT Prabhakar. It’s important to talk about AI right now because we’re at a point where in various fields, it’s performing better than humans. So it’s necessary that we try and keep up. Personally, I find AI useful, but I’m trying to stop using it as much because I find that I’m getting useless.
“The most crucial and interesting discussion was the need to establish regulatory frameworks in the use of AI.”
AI is an integral part of communication today, and increasingly relevant to content writing, which is the work I do primarily. Exposure to the cutting edge of AI discussions as an intern-volunteer at the symposium was an insightful experience. A deeper understanding of AI, new developments, its massive potential as well as gaps and potential risks, is important to know in a world where AI is becoming an inevitable tool.
The most crucial and interesting discussion was the need to establish regulatory frameworks in the use of AI. To what extent AI should be allowed to intervene in work that can be done by humans, in my case – producing creative content for media – was food for thought. As a communicator for healthcare, familiarising myself with AI as a communicative tool as well as its uses and developments in healthcare is essential.
“It interests me how AI and digital communication can be used to provide patients with health advice, schedule reminders, recommend next steps, etc.”
I particularly enjoyed the presentations on healthcare-related AI apps; it interests me how AI and digital communication can be used to provide patients with health advice, schedule reminders, recommend next steps, etc. The potential of AI to assist with health diagnostics also enhances the pace and accuracy of patient visits, resulting in faster and more individualized care.
As I work primarily with healthcare content using multimedia tools that also incorporate AI, it was useful attending the symposium. I’ve gained a better understanding of AI and knowledge of AI developments and issues in health data that can also be applicable in non-medical fields.
Will AI make clinicians obsolete?
Dr. John Cherian Oommen, CMC alumnus and Vice-Chairman of the CMC Vellore Association, speaking from a perspective of having lived and worked for over 30 years in a rural hospital in #Odisha. In a world focused on data points and dollar points, #AI can be a tool for speed, efficiency & accuracy, he said, but only clinicians can act as agents of compassion & share in the pain of their #patients. Dr. Oommen reiterated that as long as patients are human, AI cannot replace the clinician nor can AI give the clinician meaning and purpose in his calling.
Basics of AI and Machine Learning
Dr Tav Pritesh, Associate Professor in Dept of Computational Biology & founding head of Center of Excellence in Healthcare at IIT Delhi.
Evolution of #LargeLanguageModels or LLMs (an AI model that uses #machinelearning to understand and generate human language), principles behind their training & assessment metrics. Using AI to combat disinformation & in pharmacovigilance but also possibility of ‘misinfodemic’ due to AI’s ability to generate misleading or false information extremely fast.
Importance of Health Data Standards – ICD/SNOMED/DICOM/IOT/Interoperability/ABDM
Dr Karthik Adapa, Regional Adviser, Digital Health at WHO-SEARO.
Necessity for collaborative effort among healthcare professionals. Interoperability between systems and software.
Seeing beyond: AI Transforming Medical Imaging
Dr Hannah Mary Thomas, imaging scientist, Dept of Radiation Oncology, CMC Vellore.
Role of AI in imaging:
A – Automation – to do things more efficiently than humans;
I – Inference – do things humans cannot do
Digital Pathology and AI in laboratory diagnostics
Dr Swapnil Rane, Associate Professor, ACTREC-TMC (Advanced Centre for Cancer Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer, Tata Memorial Centre)
Applications of AI in pathology – ‘virtual staining’, 3D Histology, whole-block imaging and colour normalisation. Digital pathology suffers due to high expenses and high storage space required.
AI – the New Alchemist?
Dr Vikram Gota, Clinical Pharmacologist, ACTREC-TMC
Almost every step in drug discovery is amenable to AI intervention. Can possibly reduce development time by half – average time with conventional approach is 10-15 years, which with AI tools could be reduced to 7-9 years.
Surgery 2.0. – Enhance human skill with AI and Robotics
Mr Jayakrishnan, Founder and CEO of Asimov Robotics, Kochi
Levels of surgical robots, each level increasing in automation and feature
Level 3: Robots with AR and haptic feedback
Level 4: Automatic suturing
Level 5: Fully independent
Implementing AI in healthcare – Regulations and the lack of clear guidelines
Mr Rahul Mathan, Trilegal, Bengaluru
Bias: AI built on western datasets, implications for the Indian context?
How do we unlock Indian data for the good of everyone while still ensuring data protection? Tremendous opportunities for AI, but mistakes/inaccuracy are an inevitable part of its probability-based nature. Ability to fail responsibly needs to be worked upon. Consumer protection approach to liability. We have to put our heads together to think about how to protect patients and still use what AI has to offer.
