Healthcare is as much a laboratory for medical science as it is a proving ground for computer science. That is, advancements in the latter accelerate achievements in the former. Few things better symbolize this union than—the best example of the product of this union is—artificial intelligence (AI): proprietary technology that yields not only data but is determinative in its own right; a means to a superior end in which experts have the wisdom to apply this intelligence for the good of many; in which the few—the advisers themselves, whose skills are valuable and whose counsel is invaluable—can advance the interests of all.
Developing practical AI applications is something else altogether. According to Nick Chini, Managing Partner of Bainbridge, technology alone cannot transform a Fortune 1000 company—it cannot revolutionize anything—without the right amount of human capital. Or: It takes individual intellect to capitalize on the power of intelligence artificial or otherwise.
Regarding Bainbridge, that translates into a team of MIT-trained professionals with the expertise to convert raw data into real-life results for several industries, including healthcare, finance, supply chain management, and other disciplines.
Thirdly, the ability to leverage this talent—the ease by which this team can maximize its skills—is the difference between possessing data versus processing it into something that yields measurable benefits and betters healthcare in general.
Therein lies a critical point of distinction, which, based upon my conversation with Chini, clarifies the gap between the potential of AI and its practicality in the here and now. In so many words: Too many companies offer overly optimistic forecasts about what AI may do—they create exhibits more suitable for a world’s fair about the future than a fair representation of present-day opportunities—thereby disappointing us about what their versions of AI cannot do.
In contrast, an exceptional team can analyze and apply exclusive technology. In so doing, healthcare providers can be more efficient and effective. Doctors and nurses can be more responsive, and medicine can ensure a new level of responsibility.
Our responsibility, in turn, is to advance the goals Chini describes, so AI can produce an ROI that exceeds our expectations.