AI will not replace doctors, but AI trained doctors will replace ones who won’t adapt: Dr D. Nageshwar Reddy

New Delhi: Kohli Centre on Intelligent Systems (KCIS) at the International Institute of Information Technology Hyderabad (IIITH) marked F C Kohli’s birth anniversary on March 18, 2024. The occasion celebrated FC Kohli, the Founder of TCS’s 101 birth anniversary and the fifth edition of FC Kohli Talks.

Dr. D. Nageshwar Reddy, Chairman AIG Hospitals, who delivered the annual Kohli Day Lecture on AI & Healthcare – Opportunities and Challenges – Why Doctors Don’t like Artificial Intelligence(AI) stated, “Like many Doctors, I too didn’t like AI, I had a lot of apprehension about it because I thought it would be only effective after five or six years and by then I would retire. Because AI is too complicated, I felt it was not to be used in my lifetime.  But, I have realised in the past couple of years the importance of AI.

Dr Reddy who has the unique distinction of being the first Indian doctor to receive all three Padma Awards: Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Vibhushan delivered a very impactful and insightful talk in front of 250-plus audience in the hall comprising of doctors, engineers, technologists, students and faculty at IIIT Hyderabad.

Dr Reddy gave many examples of AI applications in the medical field and how it is going to benefit doctors, hospitals and patients.  AI is used in many areas of medicine, including pre- and post-surgery, patient monitoring, and personalized medicine. It can help improve patient outcomes and reduce human error, he added.

AI in colonoscopy can improve polyp detection and it is much more effective and better than a human eye can detect.  Using AI in colonoscopy is expected to prolong colon cancer, he shared

Another important function, Dr Reddy gave where AI will immensely benefit is in the study of bacteria.  The human body comprises 30 trillion human cells, 39 trillion microbial cells 20,000 human genes and 20 million microbial genes. AI helps in studying thousands of bacteria, he said.

AIG does 2000 plus surgeries a month.  Emergencies may develop in any of these patients.  But, by using AI, in our hospital, we can avoid the “Code Blue” situation and be able to save three lives a day.  “Code Blue” is a universal emergency where code signalling a medical emergency is alerted and immediate attention is sought.  Dr Reddy has given many areas where AI can be used more effectively for better outcomes.  Dr Reddy shared that AI is now more empathetic than doctors, research showed.

He spoke about AI-powered hospital beds which AIG Hospitals has one and is being studied.  And he explained how these smart beds, use sensors and algorithms to monitor patient activity, health condition etc.  He also spoke about Smart Toilets which analyses stool. AI can also be used in predictive medicine, Drug Discovery etc.

“All these are good. But, will it replace me?  No, it will not replace the doctor. But one thing is certain.  An AI-savvy doctor can replace a doctor who doesn’t use AI.  One challenge of AI is data theft.  The data that is stolen is being sold. Cybersecurity and regulation are a couple of the areas of challenge he cited.  The government doesn’t know how to regulate AI.  But it has to be regulated somehow”, Dr Reddy opined.

He inaugurated the Centre for Digital Technologies in Healthcare (CDiTH). He unveiled the plaque along with Srini Raju, BVR Mohan Reddy, R Chandrashekhar the former president of NASSCOM and others.

Prof PJ. Narayanan, Director of IIIT Hyderabad while giving a brief on the just inaugurated centre said it is translation lab was established to apply modern digital technologies to enhance the efficacy and economy of healthcare delivery for real-world impact in India and the world by effectively bridging academic research and clinical practice. With AIG Hospital as a principal partner, Dr. Reddy inaugurated the centre.

Prof Bari Raju and Raja Poladi of IIIT Hyderabad gave more insights into the CDiTH and its execution plan.

The Kohli Centre on Intelligent Systems (KCIS), named after Sri F.C. Kohli, houses all the AI research groups in the institute. 50 faculty and 500 researchers, which constitute one of the largest research groups in the country. Ranging from language technologies, computer vision, robotics, cognitive sciences and advanced machine learning, with applications in several domains including mobility and healthcare. The Centre celebrates its anniversary on March 19th, the birthday of Sri FC Kohli. Kohli Day is an annual event recognizing the faculty, researchers, and the Centre’s work, all inspired by the visionary tech leader.