Will AI Change Healthcare Forever?

Industry-disrupting innovation only occurs every so often, and very rarely in steady and sustainable growth cycles. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is one of these disruptors, and it’s highly versatile. From picking the next song on Spotify and predicting favorable stock trades, to robot assisted surgery and disease diagnosis, AI is taking every sector by storm. A “hype cycle” devised by industry and innovation research firm Gartner places AI and deep learning at the “peak of inflated expectations” phase of the emerging technology life cycle. The next step in the cycle is the “trough of disillusionment”, which is a steep downturn in usage and adoption. Some innovative technologies never survive this downturn, while others emerge stronger than ever. What is AI? Artificial Intelligence is more nebulous than previous disrupting innovations like the iPhone. Algorithms designed to emulate human levels of thinking, problem solving, and memory are referred to as AI systems. These programs utilize machine learning and act more autonomously than a simple calculator or computer. Deep learning is the most advanced subset of machine learning. It allows machines to be nearly independent in their decision making, once initially coded and given new sets of information. These more self-reliant machines make decisions in a “black box”, meaning that programmers and users may not know why or how a machine using AI came to its conclusion.