Gen artificial intelligence (AI) leader at Google Cloud outlines five methods by which advanced AI is anticipated to revolutionize healthcare by 2025.

Gen artificial intelligence (AI) leader at Google Cloud outlines five methods by which advanced AI is anticipated to revolutionize healthcare by 2025.

Though generative AI is a relatively recent development, it appears to be advancing at an extraordinary pace. Despite 2024 being an outstanding year in terms of advancements and achievements within the field, experts anticipate that the next year will surpass it, particularly when it comes to the integration of generative AI in healthcare.

According to Aashima Gupta, global director of healthcare solutions at Google Cloud, 2025 is predicted to be a groundbreaking year for healthcare and AI. The rapid investment and adoption of this technology by companies display a "unprecedented trend," which strongly recalls the enthusiasm during the early days of the internet.

Gupta outlines five key trends that she believes will be instrumental in the merging of healthcare and AI in 2025.

1. The shift towards multimodal AI and the ability to process data across numerous formats and types. This is crucial in healthcare, which often involves vast amounts of data in various formats sourced from various locations. Moreover, images play a significant role in healthcare practices (e.g., radiology, histology). Gupta cites an example of Bayer, which is working on a cutting-edge platform to extract insights from images.
2. Increased emphasis on AI agents. With rapid advancements in generative AI tools, there's an opportunity to automate numerous workflows and processes. AI agents are increasingly capable of taking autonomous actions based on specific commands and parameters, offering significant opportunities to automate back-office tasks and specific workflows. Although human supervision and approval will still be required, the benefits from automation will be substantial.
3. Platforms designed to enhance the patient experience. Specifically, numerous consumer-focused AI tools are emerging as innovators realize that AI can address not only enterprise needs but also bridge a critical gap for end-users and consumers. For instance, this could involve deploying customer-facing agents that can answer simple questions or assist with scheduling appointments.
4. The growth of intuitive search. Generative AI has redefined enterprise search and the concept of users effortlessly querying large quantities of data. Search will become even more significant in 2025, especially with the exponential growth in medical data and the demand for interoperability.
5. Investments in security. The number of cyber attacks in healthcare has been rising, and 2025 will not be exempt from this trend. As health systems grow more reliant on technology, organizations will require more preparation and learning on how to counteract attacks. AI can aid in these efforts, and numerous tools in the field are emerging to help healthcare organizations become more secure.

While these trends are optimistic and indicate the direction the field is moving in, the success will greatly depend on implementation. The collaboration between technology companies and healthcare organizations will significantly impact the future of the technology.

Competition in innovation is essential in this regard. Numerous companies are focusing on this issue — understanding the extent of AI and how it can be seamlessly integrated into healthcare. For example, Microsoft is investing billions of dollars in AI research, with a specific interest in healthcare applications such as population health, genomic sequencing, and integrating machine learning capabilities with advanced hardware that can be used in healthcare settings like the HoloLens platform.

Another example is Nvidia. Although the company is renowned for its GPU and hardware capabilities, it's also investing heavily in supporting healthcare innovation in multiple ways. In fact, I recently wrote about how Nvidia’s venture capital arm, NVentures, has backed numerous healthcare startups that are pioneering novel healthcare AI applications.

Additionally, numerous smaller companies are rapidly innovating in this field. For instance, RadAI has developed an industry-first radiology platform. The company raised nearly $50 million in funding earlier this year to support its remarkable progress.

Regarding Google Cloud, Gupta emphasizes that the organization's mission is crystal clear: "We are continually working to refine our platform so it can support the broadest range of models possible," she says. Gupta adds that this approach reflects the company's collaborative nature: "healthcare is too complex to tackle alone."

Indeed, 2024 was undeniably a transformative year for AI in healthcare. However, with the pace of progress and the substantial investments being made to push this sector forward, 2025 will unquestionably be an even more explosive period.

1. Despite the success of AI in healthcare in 2024, companies like Amazon are also investing heavily in this field, aiming to revolutionize the delivery of healthcare services through AI.
2. President Trump's administration has shown a keen interest in the role of AI in various sectors, including healthcare, and has initiated discussions with tech giants like Google and Microsoft about potential regulations and partnerships.
3. With the integration of AI in healthcare, concerns about inflation have arisen due to the increased cost of advanced technology and AI services. The strength of the dollar will play a crucial role in determining how these costs impact the global economy.
4. Tesla, in its ongoing quest for innovation, is exploring the use of AI in healthcare, with a focus on telemedicine and remote patient monitoring, which could significantly improve access to healthcare in remote areas.
5. Cybersecurity has become a paramount concern in the AI healthcare sector, and Microsoft, in collaboration with Nvidia, is developing advanced AI-driven security systems to protect sensitive health data from cyber threats.

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