Artificial Intelligence is starting to transform healthcare beyond recognition. The vision for tech companies is to get AI computers to diagnose diseases as well as a human doctor, which could ultimately result in accessible, more affordable, better healthcare for almost everyone. In a world with a chronic shortage of doctors, but where even the very poor own mobile phones, it could be truly revolutionary. And in Britain, advances in AI are already radically changing how some of us see our GPs. Dr. Hannah Fry uncovers the controversial inside story of this revolution in healthcare, with privileged behind-the-scenes access to tech companies leading the way in healthcare innovation. Ambitious British tech start-up Babylon Health launched its ‘GP at Hand’ app in London in late 2017 and has already persuaded 30,000 Londoners to quit their old GPs to register instead for this NHS ‘digital first’ service, where patients discuss symptoms with an AI chatbot and see a doctor in minutes 24/7 via their phone. Babylon’s CEO Dr. Ali Parsa talks passionately about how he hopes “to do with healthcare what Google did with information”. Kheiron Medical have also opened their doors, with their Clinical Director Dr. Hugh Harvey explaining how Kheiron’s technology is already outperforming human radiologists at spotting signs of cancer in mammograms. But this sector is new and challenging and GP at Hand’s arrival has proved controversial – with many GPs worried about the disruptive consequences for both patients and themselves. We hear from medical professionals such as Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard, Chair at the Royal College of GPs, who expresses caution about the hype around AI, voicing concerns about to what extent apps like ‘GP at Hand’ have been rigorously tested. Big questions are also raised about AI in healthcare: if it can be trusted, how it should be regulated - and what it means for all of us.
