UK Government Invest £100m In AI for Life Sciences
A new mission announced by Rishi Sunak will accelerate the use of AI in life sciences to tackle the biggest health challenges of our generation.
In a speech on Thursday, the Prime Minister announced that a £100 million in new government investment will be targeted towards areas where rapid deployment of AI has the greatest potential to create transformational breakthroughs in treatments for previously incurable diseases. The AI Life Sciences Accelerator Mission will capitalise on the UK’s unique strengths in secure health data and cutting-edge AI.
The £100 million will help drive forward this work by exploring how AI could address these conditions, which have some of the highest mortality and morbidity.
For example, AI could further the development of novel precision treatments for dementia. This new government funding for AI will help us harness the UK’s world-class health data to quickly identify those at risk of dementia and related conditions, ensure that the right patients are taking part in the right trials at the right time to develop new treatments effectively, and give us better data on how well new therapies work. By using the power of AI to support the growing pipeline of new dementia therapies, we will ensure the best and most promising treatments are selected to go forwards, and that patients receive the right treatments that work best for them.
AI driven technologies are showing remarkable promise in being able to diagnose, and potentially treat, mental ill health. For example, leading companies are already using conversational AI that supports people with mental health challenges and guides them through proactive prevention routines, escalating cases to human therapists when needed – all of which reduces the strain on NHS waiting lists.
Rishi Sunak said: "AI can help us solve some of the greatest social challenges of our time. AI could help find novel dementia treatments or develop vaccines for cancer.That’s why today we’re investing a further £100 million to accelerate the use of AI on the most transformational breakthroughs in treatments for previously incurable diseases."
This funding will help us to invest in parts of the UK where the clinical needs are greatest to test and trial new technologies within the next 18 months. Over the next 5 years, we will transform mental health research through developing world-class data infrastructure to improve the lives of those living with mental health conditions.
Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said: "Cutting-edge technology such as AI is the key to both improving patient care and supporting staff to do their jobs and we are seeing positive impacts across the NHS. This new accelerator fund will help us build on our efforts to harness the latest technology to unlock progress and drive economic growth."