| | | Members of C-suites around the world are making room for a new teammate: the CAIO. In healthcare, some organizations are hiring for the even more specialized position of CHAIO, for chief health AI officer. The trend seems to have been gaining steam since about last summer. This week the New York Times takes a look, offering anecdotes to support the hypothesis that the executive-level AI job, whatever it’s called, has become “the hottest new role in corporate America and beyond.” Among the subject-matter experts the newspaper quotes is one from healthcare—Bhavik Patel, MD, MBA, the CAIO of Mayo Clinic Arizona. Patel, a radiologist, has been at his AI leadership duties since last September. “Modern-day healthcare still has a lot of gaps,” Patel tells the Times. “I think we can smartly use artificial intelligence to bridge those gaps or at least reduce them.” Here are some other noteworthy quotes on the subject. 1. I think there are two reasons why this position needs to exist [in healthcare]. The first is that you need someone who’s knowledgeable and accountable for how this technology is used. The second is really about needing to have someone in the room when decisions are being made about … what’s coming [in AI] and what might we want to consider using.—Karandeep Singh, MD, CHAIO of UC San Diego Health. Source: The San Diego Union-Tribune 2. I realized that I could do a lot of things that I didn’t think I could do prior to this [as a technologist and a business strategist]. I’ve gained a lot of confidence from this [CAIO] experience, and I feel now that I’ve done this, I can do almost anything.—Parminder Bhatia, CAIO of GE HealthCare. Source: CIO.com 3. [In federal agencies], cross-cutting work such as AI governance and risk management cannot be performed in a vacuum; Chief AI Officers will need to coordinate with other relevant officials, such as agency CIOs, CDOs and CTOs. This is necessary for a number of reasons, but importantly, many existing teams already maintain the authorities, resources and expertise to carry out the responsibilities identified for the Chief AI Officer.—Federal CIO Clare Martorana, et al. Source: U.S. Chief Information Officers Council 4. The first thing for a chief AI officer is to understand technologies, and how are they best applied to solving problems, frictions that exist across an organization.—Daniel Hulme, CAIO of WPP (UK-based advertising/PR agency). Source: CNBC 5. Where [the CAIO] will sit, I don't know. There’s an argument they should still sit under the CIO or the CDO. But everything depends on how quickly AI proliferates. Maybe in 10 or 15 years, there'll be a chief AI officer who sits on the executive board and has a helicopter view across the organization because, by then, AI is likely going to be imperative to every facet of the business.—Lily Haake, head of technology and digital executive search at technology recruiter Harvey Nash. Source: ZDNet
- And a few telling headlines:
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| | | Buzzworthy developments of the past few days. - In the minds of healthcare executives who ruminate on management risks, AI and other emerging technologies occupy a considerable parcel of real estate. For 2024, at least. So found the consultancy Kodiak Solutions when it queried the leadership and conducted risk assessments at hundreds of hospitals and other provider orgs in 2023. Rounding out the mix of top-of-mind concerns: competition, cybersecurity, financial performance and workforce instability. Report downloadable here.
- Generative AI has catapulted technology to the top of agendas at businesses and organizations across the land. As a result, CEOs are in the hot seat for AI itself. Axios observes as much and backs up its take in a Jan. 25 post. Coursera CEO Jeff Maggioncalda tells the outlet he believes CEOs are “not going to be able to palm the blame onto someone else” if they stay on the AI sidelines. “There’s nowhere to hide,” Maggioncalda says. “If you’re the board, you’re going to ask whether you can trust [the CEO]. You’re going to ask, ‘Why are we still observers?’” Full post here.
- The Department of Justice is taking a hard look at the use of medical AI to sway physicians toward one course of clinical action over another. For example, they’re interested in how algorithms come to match certain patients with certain drugs or devices. DOJ seems to be boomeranging the fresh effort off its prior investigation into Purdue, the big pharma outfit that got into big trouble over painkiller distribution. Two anonymous sources tell Bloomberg Law that DOJ attorneys are “asking general questions suggesting they may still be formulating a strategy.” News article here.
- This year, data breaches will continue to frustrate the healthcare industry, with the average cost of a healthcare breach exceeding those of all other industries. The prediction is from Heather Randall, chief compliance officer of Sphere, a financial technology company that works with health systems. Randall is one of a handful of healthcare thought leaders who spoke with the Journal of AHIMA on what they think 2024 will bring to healthcare IT. More here.
- Meanwhile the good guys are always getting better at cyber cat-and-mouse games too. Witness the Russian national who was sentenced Jan. 24 to more than five years in prison for helping create and dispatch a notably nasty bit of malware. Called Trickbot, the code was used to attack numerous businesses and organizations, including hospitals. “This sentencing demonstrates the [U.S. Department of Justice’s] ability to place cybercriminals behind bars, no matter where they are located,” says Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole Argentieri of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division in a news release. “In cooperation with our partners around the world, we will continue to bring cybercriminals to justice.”
- Generative AI is being paired with immersive virtual reality to provide ‘helpful and safe’ support for patients with mental health challenges. The technique was developed at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles. Called Xaia for eXtended-Reality Artificially Intelligent Ally, the avatar is gentle and empathetic enough with patients to have said to one, in a clinical trial, “There’s no need to apologize for crying. These feelings are valid.” Details here.
- ‘The first human received an implant from @Neuralink yesterday and is recovering well. Initial results show promising neuron spike detection.’ That’s how Elon Musk let the world know his brain-implant company had pre-treated its first patient. Musk’s Jan. 29 tweet—or what are tweets called now that Musk changed Twitter to X?—has inspired lots of coverage. Musk has been suggesting the implant will initially be used to help paralyzed individuals gain muscle control while the company, um, brainstorms ways it might be used in otherwise healthy people. (Gulp.)
- From AIin.Healthcare’s news partners:
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