Into the future: how artificial intelligence is shaping precision medicine

The advent of artificial intelligence (AI) has revolutionised the field of precision medicine. The ability of AI to characterise tumours based on their biomarkers has the potential for earlier detection of genetic mutations associated with malignancies. Improvements in variant calling, defined as the ability to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms in genes, and variant prediction, the process of distinguishing benign and pathological variants, can contribute to the development of pharmacotherapies that target tumour cells with more specificity. The technology, however, is only as valuable as the way in which it is managed. Causal inference is defined as the ability to identify and prioritise associations in order to help guide effective clinical decisions. The success of a treatment regime can be predicted by AI based on an analysis of genetic background; however, this may not reflect clinical evidence of associations between patients with said gene profiles and subsequent treatment responses. Thus, it is imperative to view these advancements in AI as a clinical aid, rather than a singular prediction tool that can replace the role of a physician. Lastly, AI’s incorporation in medicine should also address technical challenges such as bias and explainability, and grapple with growing ethical obligations to privacy and patient autonomy