This is perhaps what we thought about AI 12 months ago. In reality, AI is not only much closer than we think, but has very quickly become an all-encompassing, era-defining, future-dominating toy. The truth is, we are immersed in it, whether we like it or not.

Rock music, women voting, the arts and building bridges (real and conceptual) – are all examples of amazing things that we now all agree are absolutely necessary. But they were also things that were historically seen as ‘threatening’ – existential attacks on the old order.

AI in healthcare is raising concerns but there is also quite a bit of ‘new toy’ excitement. Amid the complexity of, let’s say, research and development or devising treatment plans, AI offers the ultimate clinical input. Uncluttered, unbiased, unjudgmental. Removing the speculative, flawed, emotional human mind.

But here’s the caveat. Machine learning is shaped by the very human beings that AI offers an alternative to. This dear reader is when your brain starts to drain out of your body and emerge through the holes in your Crocs. To try to completely comprehend it is where madness lies. We can’t go there.

What we can do is relish the possibilities that balance can bring. When Isambard Kingdom Brunel imagined his network of bridges – it wasn’t just about getting to the other side. It was about reaching perfect calibration. After all, standing in the middle, with sure knowledge on one side and stunning possibilities on the other, brings clarity.

Amid the noise we strive for that clear path,

John Pinching
editor

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