HealthAI's Mission Comes to Life in Chile and Uruguay
As CEO of HealthAI, I'm always moved and inspired by the chance to collaborate with those dedicated to fostering a healthier future for everyone.
I was honoured to visit Chile and Uruguay with Dr. Christoph Benn, our Board Chair, this month. Our purpose was clear: collaborating to bring responsible AI in health to people worldwide. Meeting people like Chile's Minister of Science, Aisén Etcheverry Escudero, Chile's Ministry of Health representatives, HealthAI’s own board member, and former Chilean Minister Dr. Jeanette Vega was truly inspiring.
My heartfelt thanks to everyone we met for their commitment to health equality.
HealthAI is committed to leveraging AI so everyone can build a healthier future. AI can save lives, but we must get the regulations right.
HealthAI aims to ensure that the capacity exists in each country so that each country, with their sovereign independence, can validate AI tools. We're working to connect regulatory teams worldwide into one global network to allow the sharing of knowledge to help accelerate the validation process safely and tackle any challenges that may arise. At its core, our work is about helping to ensure safe, quality, equitable and effective AI tools for all citizens when it comes to health, and it's also about supporting investment and adoption of technology with the potential to improve health outcomes.
Our journey to Chile and Uruguay showed me how advanced both countries are in bringing the benefits of AI in health to their citizens.
To start, both Uruguay and Chile have strong digital infrastructure, with Internet access rates over 90%, which provides some solid foundations for advancing AI in healthcare. And they’ve made good use of it.
Our journey to Chile and Uruguay showed me how much countries believe in AI's potential for better health outcomes. While there, we met with so many inspiring organisations. From universities to think thanks, the work happening in both countries will be critical to the government's work with us.
In Chile, AI is already used to manage the logistics and supply chain of medical stock. Private sector companies are also quick to innovate, offering more and more solutions to improve people’s well-being. Chile’s digital and AI frontier progress is underscored by initiatives like the Ministry of Science's efforts to integrate science and technology, collaborations with global tech giants and the thriving start-up program that has positioned the country as a leader in technological innovation.
Uruguay is setting a standard for countries to navigate the complexities of the digital age with a focus on ethical standards and societal benefits. It leads responsible AI by developing an AI strategy tailored to digital governance. This strategy is built on four foundational pillars: AI governance, capacity development, use and application of AI, and digital citizenship. This comprehensive approach, reflecting a commitment to ethical standards and societal benefits, positions Uruguay at the forefront of digital innovation.
To dive in deeper, the OECD AI Policy Observatory provides an in-depth look into both AI policies in Chile and AI policies in Uruguay.
Join Us: Be Part of the HealthAI Community
HealthAI has issued a call for applications for a new community of practice to provide a solution. We invite you to join our Community of Practice, a space for organizations from governments to regulatory agencies to academia to the private sector to patient organizations and more to gather to shape the discussion around the regulation of AI in health and build solutions that work.
If your organization is interested, you can apply to the HealthAI Community of Practice on our website.
This trip was about more than forming partnerships; it was about actualising our shared vision for healthy people everywhere.
I'm excited to meet more of you as the HealthAI Community of Practice grows
