The @theresa_may schtick about AI saving millions of lives in healthcare is silly.
There are a few probs where AI is useful (i.e. classification).
The real wins in health IT are all: DOING THE BASICS PROPERLY.
That's what we do in e.g. openprescribing.net
That's why every NHS IT programme fails.
That's why every NHS data programme fails, and terrifies patients.
That's why we don't implement evidence properly into everyday practice in the NHS.
That's why we don't have a learning health system.
The NHS board has no nerds.
But the NHS board does not have nerds. So it fails.
This will sound mean - and it is - but I think it is important, as it is a rapid screening tool to help you spot the generalists who are holding back progress in a given field, through their lack of technical skills..
"I'm really interested in the *ethics* of big data and AI"
They mean:
"I lack the technical skills in stats, epi, data and IT to engage with these techniques substantively, but I want to *display* that I'm somehow connected to the issue"
Ethics important…