Generative AI is on the brink of making substantial strides in the fields of public health and healthcare, primarily by improving the capabilities of patient engagement, data synthesis, and personalized content creation. Gen AI could facilitate the streamlining of tasks such as code generation and updating, potentially resulting in increased operational efficiency and productivity for public health organizations. Service delivery, outbreak response, and product research and development are among the public health domains in which the technology has the potential to be applied. A transformative impact is underscored by early applications, such as the use of GPT-4 to analyze epidemiological data and predict outbreaks. Moreover, Gen AI has the potential to liberate up to 26 billion hours of work capacity for healthcare workers in lower- and middle-income countries, thereby enhancing supply chain management and reducing administrative burdens.
Gen AI is anticipated to generate a global productivity increase of $60 billion to $110 billion, which is expected to be advantageous for pharmaceutical and medical-device companies. In order to expedite the time to market, life sciences organizations are already making substantial investments in AI-driven research and development. Gen AI presents a distinctive opportunity for public health stakeholders to address diseases such as HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis. Public health agencies can responsibly investigate the extensive potential of this emerging technology by collaborating with industry and academia.
