Artificial Intelligence can provide the healthcare system with the ability to scale personalized healthcare at a lower cost, Chief Scientist for Research, Innovation and Technology of the Republic of Cyprus, Demetris Skourides, has said at the 38th Annual Meeting of the European Forum for Medical Advancement (EFMA) that took place in Limassol. Skourides, who attended the EFMA in his capacity as Technology Officer and AI Strategist, shared insights on how Artificial intelligence and robotics will augment medical professionals in what he referred to as Human Centric Augmentation giving medical professionals AI superpowers. This year's event with the theme "Threats to the Medical Profession", gathered leading experts, professionals, and stakeholders from the global medical community to discuss pressing challenges and explore innovative solutions, a relevant announcement notes. During his keynote, the Chief Scientist addressed the myth that ChatGPT has the answers to medical questions. As he explained, while generative Intelligence can address many use-cases in healthcare -particularly related to administration - a more sophisticated, large language model trained with medical data is required to unlock value in the medical field. Skourides listed examples of AI in Surgery, Diagnosis, Prevention, and Treatment, and stressed that the introduction of Artificial intelligence in medicine will help medical providers, doctors, and physicians, to make informed decision making faster, reducing medical risks for patients and ultimately make healthcare more affordable for citizens. The Chief Scientist shared the progress Cyprus is making in healthcare research, indicating that the government has granted pound 41m in funding since 2016, of which pound 13.9m in Research, pound 7.5m in Knowledge Transfer, pound 9.5m in Innovation, pound 5.4m in Research Infrastructures, and pound 4.8m in Internationalization. He also analysed the different uses of Generative AI in healthcare which can help reduce administrative and operatio nal costs, and highlighted examples of how AI can create value for both medical professionals and patients. Skourides stressed that AI can provide the healthcare system with the ability to scale personalized healthcare at a lower cost, and shared real-life examples of how customer-centric healthcare solutions can help improve the quality of life. During a panel discussion, chaired by Dr Otmar Kloiber, Secretary General of the World Medical Association, Adv. Leah Wapner, Secretary General of the European Forum of Medical Associations, Hadas Bitran, Head of Health and Life Sciences at Microsoft Israel R and D Centre, and Dr. Oksana Souter, CEO of Swiss Organic Solutions, Skourides answered questions on AI Ethics, Traceability, and assured the audience, that with the EU AI framework, AI implementations should not be perceived as a threat to medical professionals. 'Medical doctors should view it as a co-pilot that can help reduce operational and information workloads, as well as life-threatening risks, impro ve decision making, and help doctors focus on what matters for their patients', he said. Source: Cyprus News Agency