Hopeful, but still skeptical about AI
On July 23, 2021, a request for information (RFI) was published by the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) in the Federal Register for public comment on an ambitious plan to democratize access to artificial intelligence (AI) research and development (R&D). The comments will help inform the work of the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (NAIRR) Task Force as specified in the National AI Initiative Act of 2020.
As a former graduate intern at the Health and Human Services (HHS)’s Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC)’s Division of Standards & Interoperability, I had the amazing opportunity to help inform the final regulations that fulfilled the 21st Century Cures Act as it pertained to electronic prescribing. From that experience, I have concluded that the pace of technology is limited by our laws and regulation. Further, that good policy can truly incentive innovation and creativity.
I still vividly recall the AI hype beginning to build in 2017. Being in healthcare, it was difficult to go a day where a colleague or clinician didn’t use the words: artificial intelligence, machine learning, or natural language processing. I even created a video about how I thought that it’s something our pharmacy organizations, especially those of us in informatics, should start thinking about when it comes to the impact it can have on our profession. Unsurprisingly, the national academy of medicine responded with a salient article at the end of 2019: Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare - The Hope, the Hype, the Promise, the Peril. It’s a fantastic read. I’m sure many are already familiar with it, but in general, as an informatics pharmacist that helps build, design, and implement EHR systems, I’m still quite skeptical about the hype around AI. At the heart of it, AI revolves around a lot of data and when we have bad data, we get bad AI.
Though, after a few years of collaborating with individuals and even dabbling in a few “AI” projects, I’m still hopeful for the promise of AI. The WHO’s most recent publication in July 2021 helped affirm some of my thoughts in that there are certainly many opportunities, some of which are already in place, but there are still many challenges.
The public will have until October 1, 2021 to provide their thoughts. If you’re involved in AI, I hope that you’ll find the time to contribute. You can submit formal comments here.