Interview with Casper Klynge, Microsoft’s Vice President for European Government Affairs. We talk about ethical AI in healthcare, secondary use of data, and the role of technology during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Where should the border between citizens’ privacy, human rights, and secondary use of data and data reuse for scientific, health, and public health purposes be set?

In recent years, digital transformation in the healthcare sector has generated a wealth of data that has the potential to improve patient care and health outcomes in myriad ways. This data must be used first and foremost to serve patients and provide far-reaching…

Startups have become the epitome of innovation, technological progress, new work culture, and quick scaling of game-changing solutions on the market. And what does this world look like from the inside? In the “Uncanny Valley,” Anna Wiener unmasks the uncontrolled ambitions of young companies, along with their struggle for domination and influence coupled with recklessness.

Big money as a breeding ground for pathologies

Usually, technology has nothing to do with a mission to change the world for the better. It’s just pure business, admits Anna Wiener. In her best selling book, she documents personal experiences from Silicon Valley. …

The COVID-19 crisis has reminded all seven billion people on Earth of the crucial importance of health. More than ever, we are collectively expressing our gratitude for the amazing work of medical professionals on the front line. In order to appreciate their daily efforts to save lives and help patients, not only during this time of crisis but in the future as well, we need to understand the value of being a doctor or nurse.

What do you expect when you get sick?

Regardless of education, wealth, or origin, people experience the same emotions. We are happy when things go well, sad or scared when our health and…

Every year, when the number of flu cases grows, healthcare centers burst at the seams. Paradoxically, in order to get medical advice, patients infect other people in waiting rooms, on public transport, and in workplaces. Or they get infected if they are healthy. The COVID-19 pandemic made us realize that we could do it all differently. So, if you really don’t have to see your doctor, #StayAtHome and switch to telemedicine visits — to protect yourself, others, and medical staff. To reduce the burden on the healthcare system. For shared responsibility.

Small, harmful mistakes

It is the same every autumn and winter: crowds…

Can robots supplement the ‘human touch’ of real doctors? Are we able to forgive machines that make medical mistakes? Can a chatbot offer an empathetic, compassionate level of care? An interview with Joanna Bryson, Professor for Ethics and Technology at the Hertie School in Berlin with an affiliation to the Department of Computer Science at the University of Bath.

In healthcare, there is a big fear of Artificial Intelligence replacing doctors. …

They help the disabled, entertain patients in hospitals, and support therapies for autistic children. But from robots in healthcare, we expect much more than just manual help. We want human touch. Humanoids augmented with social abilities should react to our emotions and create authentic relationships so we can trust them. What care do we want in the future? And how can we involve robots to make healthcare smarter?

A patient full of emotions

A small, white robot with big eyes enters the patient’s room. It asks questions about the mood, takes a thorough medical history, carries out necessary laboratory tests…

Micro-trends, political strategies, technologies, discoveries in medical sciences, and societal changes are shaping the healthcare sector. What changes are on the horizon at the beginning of 2020? Here are eight remarkable transformative forces expected in the upcoming months.

Healthcare is continuously undergoing paradigm shifts. But now, for the first time in history, the transformation is reaching the deepest foundations of the medical profession.

At the start of each year, we all want to know which trends will have the most dramatic impact. But these predictions often fail because they try to explain a complicated world using oversimplifications. In an effort…

Patients often have to wait years to get a correct diagnosis. Some of them are left forever misdiagnosed. In a desperate search for the truth, they become detectives investigating their own problems, going from one doctor to another and doing detailed research on the Internet. What to do when nobody knows what’s wrong with you?

Harmful information gaps

When you feel unwell or are concerned about your health, there is a natural urge to get a doctor’s opinion immediately. The first step to eliminate health problems is to get a correct diagnosis. Next, modern medicine steps in, with a range of treatment options…