By: CIFAR
1 Jul, 2020
Building a Learning Health System for Canadians
July 1, 2020
Report of the Artificial Intelligence for Health Task Force
July 2020
A CIFAR-convened national roundtable of leaders in AI and health innovation debated Canada’s opportunities to advance AI for health. A strong consensus emerged: if we act quickly, Canada can become a world leader in the development and adoption of AI-based approaches to health and healthcare.
From the report:
Canadian scientists have been pioneers in the development of artificial intelligence (AI), and the AI field in Canada has benefited from substantial new public and private investment in the last three years.
AI-powered technologies have particular promise in the health realm, broadly defined.
In particular, responsible use of AI could:
- Improve the effectiveness, efficiency and safety of health service delivery;
- Provide insights to inform both disease prevention and policies addressing broader population health determinants; and
- Underpin the discovery and development of new diagnostic tools and treatments.
Canada has lagged behind many peer nations in its pace of uptake of digital healthcare innovations. This situation is impeding the development and scaling of AI applications in healthcare delivery and research
Many other nations have also made strategic investments in AI, and Canada’s strongly competitive position in the field is at risk.
The time is now for Canada to make strategic investments in a national AI for health strategy to leverage all of our strengths, foster collaboration and coordination across sectors and jurisdictions, and deliver better health for Canadians and the world.
Government action relevant to AI for Health (AI4H) is urgently needed on three broad fronts.
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