‘Living Intelligence’ — Why It’s Time to Look Beyond AI in Health Care

‘Living Intelligence’ — Why It’s Time to Look Beyond AI in Health Care. A nanobot attacking a cell.

If you’re finding it difficult to keep up with the rapid changes in artificial intelligence (AI) in health care, there is another early-stage tech wave with which C-suite leaders may want to become familiar.

It is called “living intelligence,” which has major ramifications for many fields, including health care. Living intelligence systems can sense, learn, adapt and evolve through the use of AI, advanced sensors and biotechnology, notes Amy Webb, a quantitative futurist, CEO of the Future Today Institute and professor of strategic foresight at New York University’s Stern School of Business.

It's Not Too Early to Look beyond AI

Living intelligence will drive an exponential cycle of innovation, disrupting fields and creating entirely new markets. Leaders should understand how these technologies intersect, as a new wave of disruption already is forming, Webb explained in a January Harvard Business Review report she authored.

Much of the data that feed AI engines will come from advanced sensors and a network of interconnected devices that communicate and exchange data to facilitate and fuel AI’s advancement, Webb states.

In health care, these innovations enable continuous diagnostics and monitoring around the clock. This continuous monitoring also can help detect disease earlier, allowing for timely treatment or preventive care. The institute’s report also predicts more significant developments that may be in the offing.

AI likely will enable generative biology, a technology that simulates biological interactions, designs new proteins and genes and could one day create entire organisms and organs, notes a January report in ICT&health, a knowledge platform for health care innovation. Innovations in this space include protein therapies, organoid creation (allowing drugs to be tested on living tissues without human involvement, such as “organs on a chip”) and 3D printing of body organs.

In addition, advances in chip miniaturization and greater computational power are leading the way for nanobots capable of precisely delivering tumor drugs or clearing blocked blood vessels, the report states.

As the era of living intelligence unfolds, it will create new markets and value for consumers, Webb writes. The flywheel effect will drive increased consumer spending, which in turn will attract more investment. This influx of funding likely will bring in top talent, spurring further innovation. She adds that early adoption already occurs in fields like health care, medical products and pharmaceuticals.

4 Ways You Can Act Now on Living Intelligence

1 | Demystify advanced and emerging technologies for your organization.

Webb urges senior leaders to familiarize themselves with living intelligence so that staff leaders will understand how AI, advanced sensor data and biotechnology intersect.

2 | Create pragmatic scenarios for disruption and new value creation.

Develop near- and long-term scenarios for using and scaling living intelligence technologies, processes and products. Use strategic foresight to understand how the evolving living intelligence ecosystem could impact existing processes.

3 | Identify two to three high-impact use cases — and get started.

Pinpoint specific use cases where living intelligence can make the most significant impact. By choosing pilots with the greatest potential for scalability, leaders can accelerate the adoption of living intelligence and begin integrating these technologies into everyday workflows.

4 | Commit to developing necessary roles, skills and capabilities.

Living intelligence demands a mindset shift across the organization. Prioritize education and experimentation initiatives to prepare employees to work effectively alongside these technologies and develop new job categories and descriptions for your future workforce.

Learn More

The AHA’s recently released “Building and Implementing an Artificial Intelligence Action Plan for Health Care” report provides a playbook for allocating resources that prioritize patient access, revenue cycle management and operational throughput. The report highlights top AI clinical applications, expertise required for deployment and a timeline for the expected return on investment.

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