MEIN30010

Artificial intelligence (AI) systems will be increasingly used in a medical setting for a variety of purposes. AI systems are already in use for performing diagnoses from medical images, managing hospital resources, and predicting patient outcomes. Additional areas where AI is likely to make a significant impact include drug discovery, chronic disease management, and surgery. Increasingly, patients themselves will be engaging with AI systems. This module will introduce core concepts related to artificial intelligence systems in medicine with a particular emphasis on how they are trained and evaluated. Application areas across diverse areas of medicine will be discussed, along with a critical analysis of why some challenges are well addressed by AI systems while others are not. The module will not discuss algorithmic aspects of artificial intelligence in detail, but will rather focus on the data requirements and on methods of evaluating performance. Students will gain hands-on experience of developing a machine learning classifier and evaluating its performance. They will also gain experience from interacting with generative AI systems, exploring their potential uses in medicine. Programming is not a prerequisite, making the module suitable for those from a medical / biological background. This module equips students with the knowledge to assess and critique AI systems in healthcare, preparing them to engage with this transformative technology.