Positive news that holds hope for the medical fraternity and patients is the urging by UK Prime Minister, Theresa May, for the adoption of artificial intelligence by the NHS and technology companies to diagnose critical diseases such as cancer.

However, several impediments remain firmly entrenched in place for the implementation of AI. A greater need for investment into AI and research into how it can augment the efficacies of the technology needs to be looked into. In order to leverage the massive potential of AI, there is a greater need to enhance collaboration across diverse disciplines and geographies.

It is pertinent to note here that though great promise is held by AI, its power can only be optimized for the greater good through building purpose-initiated technological platforms that are scientifically and technologically advanced. The building of such platforms will require specialized data crunching in a varied, accurate and multidisciplinary manner and several years of training along with algorithm-building.

The move to initiate AI as a tool for the clinical diagnosis of cancer has the potential to save a lot of lives per year. However, this entails the need for extra clinicians, chiefly endoscopists who are in short supply, to be trained effectively and debuted into the cancer treatment pathway.