Very interesting article on AI use in the NHS radiotherapy
Glasgow's "Turing Institute" which was closed down due to lack of backing by the UK government 1994 - as there was apparently no future for computers??! Even as The Turing Institute wrote the code for the Space shuttle landings and came up with the idea for a WORLD WIDE WEB. The Turing Institute has now been replaced by an "Alan Turing Institute" opened in London in 2015!
In 1965 a Research Group was set up in Edinburgh university, under Donald Michie, who had been part of the code breakers at Bletchley park , alongside Alan Turing.
“AI in Scotland can be traced to the top-secret home of World War code breakers. The history of Scottish AI stretches back over 60 years.
He’d been a member of a code-breaking group at Bletchley Park, and had worked as a cryptographer alongside Alan Turing, the famous mathematician and computer scientist.
Described as the father of British research into AI, Michie devoted his life to the development of computers to perform complex, human-like tasks. By 1970, Edinburgh University was one of the few centres in the world working on AI and today – more than 60 years after Michie’s research began – the institution hosts dozens of scientists using the technology.
Edinburgh University is undertaking research into the use of AI in healthcare
“We’ve been very much focused on health, public disease and patient data for the last five years, and trying to learn new things about diseases and how they progress,” says Simpson.”
“We have 57 PhD students here doing research, and we’ll have another 60, so it’s pretty massive. In total, we’re looking at nearly £20m in investment. We collaborate inside Edinburgh and across Scotland. It’s not just scientists – we’ve got nurses and clinicians learning about AI here, which is quite unique.” In some quarters, AI is viewed as a game-changer….
Edinburgh University certainly hopes to transform patient care, and – 60 years after codebreaker Michie’s work began – it remains in the vanguard. “It’s only in the last five to 10 years that the data you need has been available,” says Professor Simpson, who is “very excited” about the potential of digital twins and virtual organs. “It’s very early days for that – but it’s fantastic that it’s based here.”
**In 1982 Michie set up the Glasgow Turing Institute – worked on the code for all the space shuttle landings.
The institute was forced to close in 1994 due to lack of backing by the UK government.
The Turing Institute has now been replaced by an "Alan Turing Institute" opened in London in 2015! With 42m from chancellor George Osborne.
https://www.thenational.scot/news/24450290.cure-nhs-artificial-intelligence-healthcare-scotland/
