Hype, hallucination, hope – what might AI mean for our health?
REAL Challenge annual lecture
There is excitement about how artificial intelligence might help deliver better health for the nation. This could be through new scientific discoveries, better diagnostics, more efficient services, and better information in the hands of the public. But how can we make sense of the opportunities and risks presented by these new technologies?
Our keynote speaker, Chief Executive of the British Academy Hetan Shah, warned of the risk of rushing breathlessly to unleash technology. He explored how policymakers can navigate the hype and critically assess what’s needed to ensure AI gives people what they want and need to improve their health.
Speaker
Hetan Shah is chief executive of The British Academy, the UK’s national academy for humanities and social sciences. He is Chair of Our World in Data, which brings together research and data to make progress against the world’s largest problems. Hetan was appointed in 2024 by the UK Parliament to the board of the National Audit Office, the UK’s independent spending watchdog.
He is Visiting Professor at the Policy Institute, Kings College London and a Fellow at Birkbeck, University of London. Hetan serves on a number of advisory boards including the Bennett Institute for Public Policy at the University of Cambridge, the UCL Policy Lab and the Resolution Foundation. He helped to found the independent Ada Lovelace Institute (which has a mission to ensure data and AI work for people and society) and served as its Vice Chair from 2018-22.
Chair
Anita Charlesworth is a health economist based at the Health Foundation, where she will co-chair the forthcoming commission on NHS productivity. At the Health Foundation, Anita founded the REAL Centre and was director of research for 8 years.
Anita is deputy chair of North-West London NHS Integrated Care Board and a council member of the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). She is a member of DWP’s Labour Market Advisory Board and the Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) Advisory Panel.
Anita is a member of the Council of the Royal Economic Society and University of Bath, Institute for Policy Research Advisory Board. She is Honorary Professor in the College of Social Sciences at the Health Services Management Centre (HSMC) at the University of Birmingham.
Anita has a background in government and public policy. She had roles as Chief Analyst at DCMS, Director of Public Spending at the Treasury and worked as an Economic Advisor at the Department of Health. Anita was specialist advisor to the House of Lords' Select Committee on the long-term sustainability of the NHS in 2016/17 and a member of the Health and Social Care Select Committee expert panel between 2020 and 2024.
Anita has an MSc in Health Economics from the University of York. She is a Trustee for Tommy’s, the baby charity, and chair of the Office of Health Economics. She was awarded a CBE in the Queen's 2017 Birthday Honours List for Services to Economics and Health Policy. In 2024 Anita was made a fellow of the Academy of Social Science.
