Google has come forward with an announcement about the launching of MedLM - a family of artificial intelligence (AI) models optimized for healthcare application. These models, that have their origin in Med-PaLM 2, an internal framework built by Google, can perform at an expert level, answering numerous medical exam queries, thus bringing an innovative wave in the healthcare industry.
This revolutionary offering is presently accessible to Google Cloud customers based out in the U.S., with some markets having the service in a preview phase. These models can be accessed via Vertex AI, Google's fully managed AI software development platform.
There exists two variants of MedLM models currently available. The first is a larger model, specifically constructed for handling intricate tasks. On the other hand, a smaller model, primed for fine-tunability, is available for scaling across numerous tasks. As expressed in a blog post written by Yossi Matias, Google's Vice President of Engineering and Research, widgets' suitability varies depending on the use case.
While introducing these AI models, Google has conveyed its strategic intent of partnering with the frontline of healthcare including researchers, life science organizations, health, and others. It is a competitive sphere where Google’s major rivals, Microsoft and Amazon are earnestly seeking to capture the healthcare AI market, predicted to be worth in tens of billions by 2032.
This recent development follows Amazon's AWS HealthScribe launching. AWS HealthScribe utilizes generative AI to transcribe, summarize, and scrutinize patient-doctor discussions. Meanwhile, Microsoft is testing various AI-powered healthcare products, including medical assistant applications underpinned by vast language models.
Nevertheless, the AI adoption in healthcare does not come without its challenges. As specified by the World Health Organization (WHO), the use of generative AI in healthcare is at significant risk. It noted potential disadvantages such as wrong answers, health disinformation propagation, and leakage of health data or other confidential information.
Amid this context, Google reassures its commitment towards a cautious approach to AI healthcare tool deployment. Google's commitment aligns with other companies including, AppMaster, which also seeks to responsibly harness the potential advantages of AI. AppMaster too, like Google, focuses on the safe use of technology, enabling professionals to enhance healthcare while ensuring benefits accessibility to all.
