AI Integration in Health Care and Traditional Medicine Highlighted at 2025 UN Summit
AI's potential in health care and traditional medicine was a key focus at the 2025 UN Summit, emphasizing governance, regulation, and AI's transformative role.
Key Points
- • AI as a transformative force in public health, according to WHO leaders.
- • Key areas for AI in health include governance, regulation, and localization.
- • Technical brief outlines AI's application in traditional medicine, identifying gaps and risks.
- • Global Initiative on AI for Health aims to utilize AI for better health outcomes.
The 2025 AI for Good Global Summit, a pivotal event held from July 8-11 in Geneva, Switzerland, focused on the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into health care and traditional medicine. Spearheaded by the United Nations, the summit brought together global leaders to explore AI solutions that address urgent issues such as health inequality, climate change, and the need for humanitarian action in health contexts.
Keynotes were delivered by representatives from the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). WHO’s Director for the Department of Digital Health and Innovation, Alain Labrique, emphasized that AI represents a transformative shift, calling it "nothing short of a game changer in public health, in clinical medicine, and in maintaining our well-being as individuals." This underscores WHO's commitment to leveraging digital advancements for enhanced health outcomes.
The summit also focused on the Global Initiative on AI for Health (GI-AI4H), launched in July 2023, which aims to harness AI for better health systems globally. Key discussions highlighted the necessity of strong governance, effective regulation, and localization of AI technologies to ensure they are contextually appropriate for the regions they serve, addressing unique health challenges faced by different communities.
A notable development arose from the presentation of a technical brief, co-published by WHO, detailing the potential and challenges of applying AI within traditional medicine. Dr. Shyama Kuruvilla, Director a.i. of the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Centre, noted, "This first joint AI publication fittingly begins with traditional medicine in bridging the historical foundations and technological frontiers of knowledge." This brief analyzed contemporary AI practices in traditional medicine, shedding light on existing knowledge gaps and associated risks that could hinder effective implementation.
As the world continues to grapple with the repercussions of health disparities and the urgency of sustainable practices, the integration of AI into health care poses both significant opportunities and challenges. The discussions at the summit are expected to inform future initiatives aimed at advancing AI technology ethically and effectively within health systems worldwide.