UK to invest £100m towards AI-powered research for cancer and dementia treatments

The UK government has announced plans to invest around £100 million into AI innovation in healthcare.

The ‘AI Life Sciences Accelerator Mission’ will see government, industry, the NHS, academia, and medical research charities working together to use AI on eight critical healthcare missions.

The missions include treatments for cancer and tackling dementia.

“The emergence of AI within the health sector has completely reshaped the way health professionals diagnose, treat, and monitor patients,” commented Ayesha Iqbal, senior member of IEEE, an organisation dedicated to promoting ‘technology for humanity’.

Iqbal explained that more recent examples of AI in healthcare include its ability to find new links between genetic codes, perform robot-assisted surgeries, improve medical imaging methods, and automate administrative tasks.

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This year, researchers at the University of Edinburgh created an AI algorithm that they claimed to diagnose heart attacks with better speed and accuracy.

UK Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, said: “AI can help us solve some of the greatest social challenges of our time. AI could help find novel dementia treatments or develop vaccines for cancer.”

The announcement was made on the same week as the UK government’s ‘AI Safety Summit’ which saw tech giants such as Elon Musk and world leaders such as US Vice-President Kamala Harris in attendance, to discuss AI regulation and safety.

In relation to AI in healthcare, Iqbal further commented: “Going forward, it is crucial to establish ethical guidelines and standards, ensure data privacy and security, offer trialability, and educate patients.”

“Developing trust during the widespread adoption of AI in healthcare is essential. As AI innovation within healthcare continues at pace, there will be even more opportunities for patient treatment and end-of-life care.”

Also announced at the AI summit, the UK government is investing £225 million towards ‘the UK’s fastest supercomputer’ with Hewlett Packard Enterprise and the University of Bristol.

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