(by Nicola Simonetti) “A fascinating but also frightening matter because - says Amedeo Cesta (Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies of the CNR) - it opens the imagination towards feared horizons of loss of jobs and of the replacement of man by machines. Concerns understandable but far from the orderly development of this sector. Stereotypes already experienced in past years (press, cars, internet, etc.) are repeated. It is that we, citizens of the three thousandth century, feel more the changes that are repeated quickly, several times in the course of the same life.
The IA system is being improved. For example, the number of machine errors that, in 2010, reached 30%, today have been reduced to 2,8% but the man has been co-protagonist. On the other hand, thanks to these advances, there has been a swarm of scientific works, start-ups, participation from afar to conferences in such a "scary" number.
The robot looks like an intruder but reassures its symbiosis with the person who always remains "first agent" and who can not but rule the system.
A continuous observatory, attentive, capable and operative is required to calm down, manage the system.
And the Italians - confirms the Eikon-Gilead survey, presented in Milan, on the occasion of the awarding of the winners of the 8th edition of the 3 calls for tenders promoted by Gilead Italy - are optimistic. 95% think that, in the next 10 years, digital technologies will improve people's lives and about 30% believe that they will be useful for the prevention, diagnosis and monitoring of diseases. They are equally optimistic and confident when it comes to AI: almost 8 out of 10 hope that it will find greater application in the medical field.
The research and the Gilead initiative call into question App and artificial intelligence systems, computer networks to support the doctor's activity and information sites on infectious diseases and respond with projects, realized thanks to the Digital Health Program, selecting the best services and tools that, through digital technologies, can improve the patient's quality of life and therapeutic assistance with HIV (aids), hepatic and oncohematological diseases.
"Initiatives such as the Digital Health Program - says Eugenio Santoro, researcher at the IRCCS Computer Laboratory, Mario Negri Institute of Milan and Coordinator of the Call Evaluation Committee - represent an important and quality support for the development of digitalization in the medical field both for the resources made available both for the attention in the selection of the projects based on precise criteria, among which the innovativeness and the scientific solidity ".
Innovativeness and solidity are not lacking, for example, in one of the projects presented today, Tuesday, at the Ceremony, based on artificial intelligence and winner of the Call for Proposals in the 2017. "We have used - say Carlo Tascini (Azeri Hospitals of Naples and Andrea Pipoli (university, Pisa) - machine learning, a form of artificial intelligence that allows machines to learn, to create a program that can understand which patients they are at greater risk of developing an invasive Candida infection, a serious form of infection that can affect the human body.We have been able to show that the program is able to predict the cases of patients at risk better than the classical statistics. future, after it will be further validated, we can use it directly at the patient's bed to understand which drug therapy is best undertaken ".
"The results of the first three years of the Digital Program make us proud to have given life to this initiative, deeply coherent with our vocation for innovation - says Valentino Confalone, General Manager of Gilead Sciences Italia - In over 30 years we have made available cutting-edge therapies that have changed the course of diseases such as HIV and HCV by improving the quality of life of patients. Our goal, however, is to promote innovation even "beyond the drug" that is able to generate significant benefits for the patient. To this end, we have created the Digital Bando ".
DATA OF THE EIKON-GILEAD SURVEY
An overwhelming majority of the champion - 90% - believes digital technologies have improved lives, a percentage that even rises to 95% when asked if the technologies will continue to do so in the future. The 9% of skeptics, who believe that so far there have been no improvements, is reduced to an 4% when talking about the future. The 39% of the interviewed sample indicated that he would like to live in a world where most of the health needs are managed by new technologies.
"Confidence and optimism are the most represented feelings when we talk about innovation and health" - explains Cristina Cenci of EIKON - "Digital technology is perceived as a powerful tool to improve healthcare: from services to performance, minimizing time and errors" . This is also demonstrated by the data: the 58% of Italians put the hope of streamlining processes and improving access to health services in new technologies while for 47% digital represents the possibility of being able to reduce human error. The greatest expectations on the usefulness of digital technologies for health are placed above all in the monitoring of the disease (33%), while immediately afterwards the diagnosis of diseases (25%) and the facilitation in daily life are indicated. Then follow other areas: prevention, improvement of care, the discovery of new drugs.
I ask the doctor via WhatsApp
In terms of daily use of digital technologies, Italians confirm themselves as great smartphone lovers (89%). It follows the use of the computer (87%), while the tablet is widely separated from these numbers (38%). To communicate with the doctor we still use traditional channels, such as going to the clinic or calling, but there seems to be openness to the possibility of using others: WhatsApp, for example, has overcome the use of email in communication with the doctor. Wearable technologies to monitor health are not yet significant numbers: 62% of the sample has indicated not to use them, 21% uses them, while 17% plans to use them in the future. With regard to remote diagnosis, only a minority (22%) has received one, but 80% believes that being able to receive either a positive or, in any case, another potential mode.
The future is in Artificial Intelligence (IA)
The Italians define themselves as being informed about AI: the majority of the sample think they know what it is and know an example of it as Deep Blue, the computer that defeated the chess master Garry Kasparov in the 1996. This knowledge, however, seems not in line with the real complexity: when asked to associate words with the IA, generic terms such as "computer", "robot", "future", or "technology" are used. Terms such as "algorithm", "brain" or even "efficiency", closely linked to AI, are much less present. The term "future" is one of the most common.
And the fact that IA foresees the collection of a large amount of personal data does not worry about 69% of the population: 30% believes it is right to collect this information and for 39% it is important to know how they are used. 16% has not yet formed an opinion on this.
The major resistances are concentrated in the relations: the 51% fears the loss of human contact in general while the 36% fears the lack of experience, intuition and intelligence of the doctor in the flesh.
Even when it comes to predictive medicine and AI, Italians are showing their inclination and confidence: for 62% it can offer very important possibilities. And the collection of genetic data always through IA systems is indicated as an opportunity for almost half of the sample (48%).
Optimism is still confirmed when a majority of the sample (77%) finds it very or fairly true that it is important to apply AI more medically.
DOCTOR AND FUTURE
In the more or less distant or near future, will the medical sector be led by entrepreneurs and not by medical professionals? And will artificial intelligence be better than a doctor? The report by Carl Benedikt Frey and Michael Osborne (Oxford University), the vocal medical reports, the medical records, the tasks of the health technicians will be the most computerizable jobs but the professionalism and irreplaceable work of doctors and surgeons can only be replaced for a short time. 0,42%. Never a robot or an algorithm will be able to wear the doctor's coat. Some marginal and executive tasks may disappear, change, others will be added, never taking care of that patient with responsibility, in that condition, in that moment that can never be superimposed and to which the machine can never offer customization.
Man can avail himself of a speeding up of tasks, of more reliable, less expensive techniques, he will be able to avoid repetitive and bureaucratic tasks.
IA and man cooperation will enhance every intervention and reduce the error (according to the latest survey, 85%).