Instant diagnosis by smartphone: how artificial intelligence can save lives

Artificial intelligence (AI) will be a “game changer” in improving the lives of the world’s poor, according to the New York-based technology entrepreneur Jack Hidary. He says the technology needed to revolutionise inefficient, ineffective food and healthcare systems in developing countries is well within grasp.

“In low-income areas, agriculture and healthcare are two critical ecosystems that we can apply AI to immediately; this is not the far future, or even in five years – we can start this year,” said Mr Hidary, moderator and session leader of Tata Communications’ recent 2016 CEO Summit, with the theme “Artificial intelligence meets emotional intelligence”.

“AI will be a game changer, and benefit billions. Today two billion people in the world go hungry, so righting the imbalanced distribution of food and dealing with the worldwide agricultural system is a good start. Technologies such as GPS have increased the yield in developed countries but have not been widely used in developing countries. Now we can level that playing field with smartphones and access to the cloud.

“The ability to increase the yield of farmland under tillage in developing countries is a mission-critical challenge. I see that as within reach using these technologies. We already have autonomous drones for agriculture, for both shooting seeds into the ground, and fertilising.”

In India, Tata Rallis, an internet of things (IoT) project, uses drones to administer pesticides. The aim is to harness data, such as crop health and soil conditions, to boost output.

Mr Hidary said: “By extension, drones are able to pick fruits, almonds and other kind of foodstuffs that are difficult to collect for humans. Drones are cheap – about $100 (£75) – and could be used by communities for farming and other tasks, and don’t have to be owned by one person.” Smartphones are now more widely used by people in developing countries. Soon we could expect instant medical advice and prescriptions from “smartphone laboratories”, said Mr Hidary.

Many deaths in low-income communities are preventable. He predicted that a device that attaches to a smartphone and could take samples of blood, saliva and urine would become available. It would tell the patient if they had diseases as serious as zika, cholera or ebola.

There would be no need to send samples to a lab in the capital, which could take weeks. Instead, there would be an immediate analysis and a prescription issued. Often the solution would be just a few pills or an injection, getting to the person to care or isolating them. AI would speed that process and save many lives. Mr Hidary added: “Applying AI to healthcare is essential for low-income communities. Often in those areas one health crisis devastates the whole family; all the savings can be lost if the breadwinner is felled by a disease.”

Timothy Chou, a Stanford University lecturer on cloud and IoT, says we cannot apply how things work in the West to the developing world. “We suffer from a mental block, because we accept how things work in our country and we want to replicate that in the developing world,” said Mr Chou, one of 60 business leaders who was at the summit at Coworth Park, Ascot. “The reality is we shouldn’t.”

The first priority must be to build infrastructure as there will be a limit to growth unless the West can build next-generation telecoms, power and agriculture systems. Providing consistent and secure global connectivity to as many as possible is imperative. Vinod Kumar, chief executive of Tata Communications and host of the summit, praised the China-led One Belt, One Road project. It aims to develop a strategy and framework focusing on connectivity and co-operation among 65 countries. “It will connect 60pc of the world’s population, and is estimated to add $2.5trn to those countries in the next decade,” said Mr Kumar, whose company is currently building India’s first-ever IoT network, which will underpin many AI applications in the country.

AI has the power to remould and better develop countries from within, by allowing tech talent to thrive. “In India, there are 4,200 start-ups, the third-largest start-up ecosystem in the world. They are redefining business models in technology for healthcare, education, climate change, ecommerce and so forth. They will make very pinpointed and disruptive investments that will shape the economy of the future, and improve the lives of the poor in India and beyond.”

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