AIMed Europe is in full swing with our first day of keynotes and deep dive sessions complete leaving a trove of takeaways for clinicians and all healthcare professionals alike.

Here are some of the insights for clinicians which caught our eye from the keynotes:

Dr Anthony Chang has said that AI is an element, like the new electricity.

But he added: “AI may be the new electricity, but in healthcare we are in a hut with just single light bulb.”

He explained that artificial intelligence is essential in a world where the amount of medical knowledge is growing exponentially.

Whereas it used to take half a century for the amount of medical knowledge to double, by 2020 it will take 73 days.

Dr Chang said: “I don’t care how fast you read, it’s not gonna be able to keep up”.

clincians tony young

Professor Tony Young, the National Clinical Lead for Innovation at NHS England

Professor Tony Young, the National Clinical Lead for Innovation at NHS England, highlighted the potential for inequality becoming built in to artificially intelligent systems.

Demonstrating his point with a picture of a development in Kenya where luxury accomodation, complete with tennis courts, sits side by side with slum tennaments, he said: “I’m sure the team who built that didn’t do so with the intention that would become a world famous marker of inequality.

“How are we going to ensure that we don’t get inequality built in?”

Professor Young also highlighted the importance of training clinicians to meet the challenges of the age of AI.

Dr Chang said: “My dream is not that we have a separate technology expert who comes in to educate healthcare professionals, but that healthcare professionals become expert enough to be able to teach medical students in the future.”

The second day of AIMed conference has begun, and keynotes are complete.