Artificial Intelligence-augmented public health interventions in India.

Abstract

The adoption and scaling of technology in public health settings in the Global South have traditionally been challenging. The introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) technology has exacerbated the challenges, but AI also brings with it exciting new frontiers. India is a large, diverse country that encapsulates well the challenges and opportunities for AI in the Global South. Here, we describe the landscape for AI as a force for driving public health outcomes in India and the critical role in this played by technology platforms. We give examples of our own work in Tuberculosis and infant health to illustrate how AI can be fruitfully integrated into large-scale platforms in order to meaningfully address gaps in public health. Finally, we point out the importance of learning lessons from early deployments on these platforms, despite the varying levels of AI maturity and readiness across modalities.