Microsoft launches $40 million global AI for Health initiative
The funds will go toward causes ranging from reducing infant mortality rates to diagnosing diabetic retinopothy.
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What you need to know
Microsoft today unveiled the latest pillar in its AI for Good program, dubbedAI for Health. Through the new initiative, Microsoft says it will invest $40 million over the next five years to improve global health outcomes using AI. The program will supply nonprofits and academic researchers with AI tools, cloud computing, and cash grants to pursue ways in which AI can be leveraged to solve global health issues.
According to Microsoft, AI for Health is focused on three key areas:
In particular, Microsoft points to work that AI can do to improve everything from child and maternal mortality rates to diabetic retinopothy screening.
“There are real health issues in which AI can play an important role, and it may be our best option to accelerate research or expand the reach of new solutions, especially in areas that may lack attention from the commercial health sector,” Microsoft said in a blog post announcing AI for Health. From Microsoft:
For example, technology can help scale screenings for diabetic retinopathy – an issue facing 463 million people – to expand the reach of ophthalmologists, as there are only 210,000 in the world. Or in cases such as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), where it is tough for organizations to invest in research given the size of the affected population, but there are huge knock-on effects to better understand and mitigate against general infant death.
This is the latest entry in Microsoft’s AI for Good program, which explores how AI can be used to improve the world. Other arms of the $165 million initiative includeAI for Cultural Heritage,AI for Earth, and more. You can find a full list of programs at Microsoft’sAI for Good site.
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Dan Thorp-Lancaster is the former Editor-in-Chief of Windows Central. He began working with Windows Central, Android Central, and iMore as a news writer in 2014 and is obsessed with tech of all sorts. You can follow Dan on Twitter@DthorpLand Instagram@heyitsdtl.
