Trend Tuesday: AI Revisits the Attic

Art by @basilonmypizza: https://lnkd.in/eF8FkWzN - https://basilhefti.ch/

As a kid, I loved spending time in the attic. It was full of the past: old bookkeeping records, boxes of photographs, tools nobody used anymore.

Putting the photographs in chronological order revealed stories. Figuring out the tools was fascinating. I spent days doing this. In particular in the attic above my dad’s workshop.

It turns out that old medical records can hold a similar fascination. And value.

For decades, we have collected them. Now, AI can revisit this “attic” and find clues: a new model from Harvard can estimate the risk of hundreds of diseases from data that already exists.

Let’s say you feel young and healthy. Your medical record contains your clinical history. Add genetic information. The AI combines these signals and finds a cardiovascular risk.

This signal can be used by your doctor to look more closely.

To me, AI in medicine and biology is a frontier: it helps us to understand biology and disease better, and improve our health. I find this trend exciting: AI being put to good use.

And there is a lesson for businesses as well. We often think: first we need to collect data. Well - not necessarily. Start by looking at what you already have, even if it is in the attic.

Believe me - it’s fascinating.

— Art: https://lnkd.in/eF8FkWzN https://basilhefti.ch/