How AI Will Transform Healthcare In Developing Regions
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As technology slowly finds a path into the various emerging markets and begins to sweep the globe, it is undeniable that these regions will benefit from the introduction of artificial intelligence. But with these ideas, a key area of concern is in the extent to which AI can adapt - where many would apply artificial intelligence in scenarios that are adverse to change, it is unquestionable that AI often fails in this regard. One only needs to look at one of the largest companies in the world - Amazon, where an AI tool designed to assess job applications ended up with racial bias in its core, consistently scoring ‘white’ applicants above ‘non-white’ applicants. This is likely due to the training protocols used, as AI picks up on recurring traits and correlates these with ‘better’ choices and it is likely the dataset consisted of a largely ‘white’ populous. As such, how could these artificial intelligence toolkits hope to be developed in emerging regions, where demographics are generally vastly different from those in western populations, and far more homogeneous too - meaning that any smaller discrepancies could be far more pronounced when deployed elsewhere, arguably causing far more issues than the benefits could have possibly outweighed.

Various forms of technology - particularly mobile phones - have taken Africa by storm and are digitally transforming the continent. Credit: The Economist
Sangu Delle, the managing director of Africa Health Holdings, a key investor in AI startups in the African continent, notes that Africa is home to roughly 15% of the world’s population, and occupies 25% of the global health burden but only has a single percent of the expenditure globally in healthcare. However, it is without question that a vast monetary effort in healthcare investment is into R&D, as any business analyst will tell you, it is far more expensive to gain a customer, as opposed to keeping a customer. In a similar way, it is far more difficult to walk up a hill than to meander at the top - it is far more expensive to research and develop efficient methods of healthcare, with all the trials and quality assurance standards that have to be rigorously met, than to deploy the finalised systems and have them work wonders in our hospitals. However, this is still an expense - and it is a question of whether the public and private funding in developing regions will suffice for these costs. After all, if western digital pioneers such as DeepMind can develop technologies and account for the monetary fees in doing so, then the global gap between richer and poorer regions can be slowly closed - richer nations invest, then the globe benefits equally, after all, why develop healthcare if it is not for the good of all people.

Left to Right: Kimberly Storin, Margaret Dawson, Hillery Hunter and Hilary Mason. These individuals will unqestionably aid artificial intelligence in finding its ‘final form’ - and help to reveal the potential that we all covet. They are currently partaking in an IBM Research Study involving AI. Credit: Forbes
With all the buzz surrounding artificial intelligence, it is so important that we roll out our technologies and toolkits to bring global healthcare forward. From surveillance of cases to the progression of mutative strains (perhaps more relevant to viruses), it is no doubt that many parts of the world have leaps and bounds to make in improvement, as highlighted in our COVID-19 pandemic. Even though we are still using age-old methods such as quarantining to this day, it is no doubt that AI could play a fundamental part in our future technologies to combat the next viral arrival. However, there must be a great deal of caution in the ethics of deploying AI toolkits on demographics that vary greatly from those used in the training dataset. How we can get a rapid solution to this conundrum will be paramount in helping developing regions catch up with the west. Furthermore, by investing in global health, we will certainly get a return on investment. By allowing developing regions to have supported healthcare systems and getting the basics done, such as a national healthcare model, will free up the brilliant minds that have yearned for more complex issues that contribute to the global effort of moving healthcare foward.
Thank you to all the aforementioned individuals, such as Sangu Delle, Kimberly Storin, Margaret Dawson, Hillery Hunter and Hilary Mason, who will be paramount in transforming AI and even our world! Thank you all for your efforts and the best wishes from us at AIDaily in your future endeavours.
Thank you all for your time in reading, stay safe, and I hope you all stay happy and occupied in self-isolation!
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