AI continues to revolutionise health care but it should complement, not replace, the judgment and autonomy of medical professionals. AP
AI continues to revolutionise health care but it should complement, not replace, the judgment and autonomy of medical professionals. AP
AI continues to revolutionise health care but it should complement, not replace, the judgment and autonomy of medical professionals. AP
AI continues to revolutionise health care but it should complement, not replace, the judgment and autonomy of medical professionals. AP


Will AI cure us of the need to see a doctor?


Ashish Koshy
Ashish Koshy
  • English
  • Arabic

January 25, 2024

In today’s ever-evolving world, health care is at a critical juncture, facing challenges and opportunities like never before. Key issues like burnout among professionals, medical errors, inefficient data management, and escalating costs are ripe for AI-driven innovations. According to a report by Accenture, AI has the potential to save the healthcare industry up to $150 billion annually in the US alone by 2026.

But beyond the numbers and potential savings lies a deeper, more personal story – one that intertwines my own journey from a career in finance and telecommunications to the helm of a health-tech AI startup. I have come to appreciate the profound impact that AI can have on our healthcare system and, by extension, our lives. I have seen how AI-powered diagnostic tools can enable early disease diagnosis, leading to better patient outcomes. I have also seen how AI can automate administrative tasks, allowing medics to focus on what matters most: caring for the patient.

Health care has taken centre stage in global discussions, with a growing focus on how it intersects with climate change; this was seen during the inaugural health day at Cop28 in Dubai last year. Events such as the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting at Davos hear about world leaders’ relentless efforts to bring about a more harmonious global order, where health and technology play integral roles in our collective consciousness. Amid these dialogues, questions arise: what are we truly deliberating? What steps are needed for genuine change? How can robust public-private partnerships shape a brighter future?

A patient in the UK undergoes a treatment called Ethos in which a machine which uses artificial intelligence to deliver a prescription dose to tumours. PA
A patient in the UK undergoes a treatment called Ethos in which a machine which uses artificial intelligence to deliver a prescription dose to tumours. PA

The primary goal is health promotion and disease prevention. AI can revolutionise patient engagement and education, paving the way for a more informed, efficient, patient-centric healthcare system. AI can also help raise awareness about health issues and promote preventive measures, ultimately reducing the need for medical care.

Rapid technological advancements, especially in AI and genetic sequencing, enable the development of precise and preventive medical solutions. By analysing large amounts of data, including patient symptoms, clinical histories and lifestyles, AI can help create a personalised diagnosis as well as identifying genetic variations and their effect on health. AI can also generate insights and enable systems to reason and learn, resulting in automated genetic diagnoses with accuracy similar to human experts.

Translating precision medicine at a population scale and ensuring clinical adoption would not be possible without platforms such as Malaffi, operated by M42’s Abu Dhabi Health Data Services and the Department of Health Abu Dhabi. The future of such health care revolves around a holistic approach to AI-powered solutions, all rooted in strong public-private partnerships.

Samples being prepared for genome sequencing, at Biogenix Labs, Omics Centre of Excellence, in Abu Dhabi. Courtesy: Mubadala Health
Samples being prepared for genome sequencing, at Biogenix Labs, Omics Centre of Excellence, in Abu Dhabi. Courtesy: Mubadala Health

The burgeoning excitement around AI’s potential to transform health care is palpable, with its promise of groundbreaking advancements in patient care and system efficiency. However, AI in health care does present a range of challenges and ethical concerns, and we should never lose sight of these.

Key issues like burnout among professionals, medical errors, inefficient data management and escalating costs are ripe for AI-driven innovations

Patients’ privacy and consent must be respected when AI collects and analyses their data. Patients must be well informed about the use of their data and retain the right to opt-out or withdraw consent. Due to the rapid pace at which AI developments can happen, there is a key issue surrounding the expiration of informed consent and how to tackle this. Ensuring these systems are transparent, reliable and safe is essential to improving the trust and adoption of clinical AI.

AI should complement, not replace, the judgment and autonomy of healthcare professionals. Striking the right balance between human and AI involvement in healthcare decision-making is essential for patient care and outcomes. For example, our AI teams are currently working with the physicians in our network to build AI models for automated reporting that can help reduce the clinicians’ workload, enabling doctors to dedicate more time to focus on complex cases and patient care.

The journey continues as technology revolutionises health care. New government-business partnerships will harness the Fourth Industrial Revolution’s innovations to enhance global health care. The World Economic Forum’s Centre for Health and Healthcare is pioneering strategies for the well-being of societies worldwide. In addition, the WEF’s Digital Healthcare Transformation Initiative, a collaborative effort involving leaders from the public sector, the IT industry and investors, is set to unlock the potential of digital data and AI in health care. Key focus areas include data utilisation, funding and incentives, tech and analytics, hybrid healthcare delivery and regulatory policies.

These efforts aim to accelerate the journey towards health equity on a global scale. By working with industry giants and the government, we have made significant strides in improving healthcare quality and personalised solutions. It’s not individual achievements but collective collaboration that fuels transformation.

As we look to the future, we are committed to positively disrupting traditional health care. We believe in the transformative power of AI for the betterment of humanity. The transition from curative to preventive health solutions is not just a faraway goal but is quickly becoming a reality.

How can we, as a global community, accelerate the shift toward preventive health care? Where do we go from here? Let us continue to engage in a meaningful dialogue, share ideas and collaboratively shape the path to this goal. This, to me, signifies the essence of progress – a collective endeavour enriched by our unique narratives and united in the pursuit of a better world for generations to come.

NBA FINALS SO FAR

(Toronto lead 3-2 in best-of-seven series)

Game 1 Raptors 118 Warriors 109

Game 2 Raptors 104 Warriors 109

Game 3 Warriors 109 Raptors 123

Game 4 Warriors 92 Raptors 105

Game 5 Raptors 105 Warriors 106

Game 6 Thursday, at Oakland

Game 7 Sunday, at Toronto (if needed)

Desert Warrior

Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley

Director: Rupert Wyatt

Rating: 3/5

Squads

India (for first three ODIs) Kohli (capt), Rohit, Rahul, Pandey, Jadhav, Rahane, Dhoni, Pandya, Axar, Kuldeep, Chahal, Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar, Umesh, Shami.

Australia Smith (capt), Warner, Agar, Cartwright, Coulter-Nile, Cummins, Faulkner, Finch, Head, Maxwell, Richardson, Stoinis, Wade, Zampa.

Sreesanth's India bowling career

Tests 27, Wickets 87, Average 37.59, Best 5-40

ODIs 53, Wickets 75, Average 33.44, Best 6-55

T20Is 10, Wickets 7, Average 41.14, Best 2-12

The Florida Project

Director: Sean Baker

Starring: Bria Vinaite, Brooklynn Prince, Willem Dafoe

Four stars

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%3Cp%3ECreator%3A%20Tima%20Shomali%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%C2%A0Tara%20Abboud%2C%C2%A0Kira%20Yaghnam%2C%20Tara%20Atalla%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
While you're here

Golden Shoe top five (as of March 1):

Harry Kane, Tottenham, Premier League, 24 goals, 48 points
Edinson Cavani, PSG, Ligue 1, 24 goals, 48 points
Ciro Immobile, Lazio, Serie A, 23 goals, 46 points
Mohamed Salah, Liverpool, Premier League, 23 goals, 46 points
Lionel Messi, Barcelona, La Liga, 22 goals, 44 points

Race%20card
%3Cp%3E6pm%3A%20Al%20Maktoum%20Challenge%20Round%201%20%E2%80%93%20Group%201%20(PA)%20%2450%2C000%20(Dirt)%201%2C600m%3Cbr%3E6.35pm%3A%20Dubai%20Racing%20Club%20Classic%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(TB)%20%24100%2C000%20(D)%202%2C410m%3Cbr%3E7.10pm%3A%20Dubawi%20Stakes%20%E2%80%93%20Group%203%20(TB)%20%24150%2C000%20(D)%201%2C200m%3Cbr%3E7.45pm%3A%20Jumeirah%20Classic%20Trial%20%E2%80%93%20Conditions%20(TB)%20%24150%2C000%20(Turf)%201%2C400m%3Cbr%3E8.20pm%3A%20Al%20Maktoum%20Challenge%20Round%201%20%E2%80%93%20Group%202%20(TB)%20%24250%2C000%20(D)%201%2C600m%3Cbr%3E8.55pm%3A%20Al%20Fahidi%20Fort%20%E2%80%93%20Group%202%20(TB)%20%24180%2C000%20(T)%201%2C400m%3Cbr%3E9.30pm%3A%20Ertijaal%20Dubai%20Dash%20%E2%80%93%20Listed%20(TB)%20%24100%2C000%20(T)%201%2C000m%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Another way to earn air miles

In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.

An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.

“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.

UK’s AI plan
  • AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
  • £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
  • £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
  • £250m to train new AI models
Dunki
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Rajkumar%20Hirani%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Shah%20Rukh%20Khan%2C%20Taapsee%20Pannu%2C%20Vikram%20Kochhar%20and%20Anil%20Grover%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
THE BIO

Bio Box

Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul

Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader

Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet

Favorite food: seafood

Favorite place to travel: Lebanon

Favorite movie: Braveheart

The%C2%A0specs%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2-litre%204-cylinder%20mild%20hybrid%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E7-speed%20S%20tronic%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E265hp%20%2F%20195kW%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20370Nm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Efrom%20Dh260%2C000%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting 

2. Prayer 

3. Hajj 

4. Shahada 

5. Zakat 

The struggle is on for active managers

David Einhorn closed out 2018 with his biggest annual loss ever for the 22-year-old Greenlight Capital.

The firm’s main hedge fund fell 9 per cent in December, extending this year’s decline to 34 percent, according to an investor update viewed by Bloomberg.

Greenlight posted some of the industry’s best returns in its early years, but has stumbled since losing more than 20 per cent in 2015.

Other value-investing managers have also struggled, as a decade of historically low interest rates and the rise of passive investing and quant trading pushed growth stocks past their inexpensive brethren. Three Bays Capital and SPO Partners & Co., which sought to make wagers on undervalued stocks, closed in 2018. Mr Einhorn has repeatedly expressed his frustration with the poor performance this year, while remaining steadfast in his commitment to value investing.

Greenlight, which posted gains only in May and October, underperformed both the broader market and its peers in 2018. The S&P 500 Index dropped 4.4 per cent, including dividends, while the HFRX Global Hedge Fund Index, an early indicator of industry performance, fell 7 per cent through December. 28.

At the start of the year, Greenlight managed $6.3 billion in assets, according to a regulatory filing. By May, the firm was down to $5.5bn. 

Company info

Company name: Entrupy 

Co-founders: Vidyuth Srinivasan, co-founder/chief executive, Ashlesh Sharma, co-founder/chief technology officer, Lakshmi Subramanian, co-founder/chief scientist

Based: New York, New York

Sector/About: Entrupy is a hardware-enabled SaaS company whose mission is to protect businesses, borders and consumers from transactions involving counterfeit goods.  

Initial investment/Investors: Entrupy secured a $2.6m Series A funding round in 2017. The round was led by Tokyo-based Digital Garage and Daiwa Securities Group's jointly established venture arm, DG Lab Fund I Investment Limited Partnership, along with Zach Coelius. 

Total customers: Entrupy’s customers include hundreds of secondary resellers, marketplaces and other retail organisations around the world. They are also testing with shipping companies as well as customs agencies to stop fake items from reaching the market in the first place. 

The Details

Kabir Singh

Produced by: Cinestaan Studios, T-Series

Directed by: Sandeep Reddy Vanga

Starring: Shahid Kapoor, Kiara Advani, Suresh Oberoi, Soham Majumdar, Arjun Pahwa

Rating: 2.5/5 

ENGLAND TEAM

Alastair Cook, Mark Stoneman, James Vince, Joe Root (captain), Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Craig Overton, Stuart Broad, James Anderson

Timeline

2012-2015

The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East

May 2017

The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts

September 2021

Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act

October 2021

Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence 

December 2024

Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group

May 2025

The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan

July 2025

The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan

August 2025

Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision

October 2025

Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange

November 2025

180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE

Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
  • Priority access to new homes from participating developers
  • Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
  • Flexible payment plans from developers
  • Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
  • DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Spare

Profile

Company name: Spare

Started: March 2018

Co-founders: Dalal Alrayes and Saurabh Shah

Based: UAE

Sector: FinTech

Investment: Own savings. Going for first round of fund-raising in March 2019

Awar Qalb

Director: Jamal Salem

Starring: Abdulla Zaid, Joma Ali, Neven Madi and Khadija Sleiman

Two stars

Updated: January 26, 2024, 9:36 AM