Dundee University's new AI medical breakthrough might just save your life
Latest example of the extraordinary benefits of AI is welcome, but the potential threats posed by the technology must always be remembered
According to Professor Geoffrey Hinton, aka ‘the Godfather of Artificial Intelligence’, there is a 10 to 20 per cent chance that AI will cause the extinction of humanity. Given his expertise in the subject – a former Google vice-president, he won the 2018 Turing Award for his work on artificial neural networks that simulate human intelligence – it’s a worrying thought that we must take seriously.
However, there is also no doubting the extraordinary benefits of AI. For example, Dundee University researchers have now used it to develop a scan that can help predict a person’s chance of having a heart attack or stroke within the next ten years.
As consultant cardiologist Dr Ify Mordi explained, “it may be surprising, but the eyes are a window to the heart” and problems with blood vessels in the eye may also mean problems with those supplying the heart.
This is just one of the latest examples of how AI is revolutionising medicine and science. So it might just save your life, and many, many more. However, as the advances multiply, we would probably be best advised to tread ever more carefully.
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