Utilizing AI in Healthcare Could Impact Economy, Researchers Say

In October, the Washington, D.C.-based non-profit research organization Brookings Institution released a working paper on projecting Artificial Intelligence’s (AI) long-term impact on the U.S. fiscal outlook. The authors, Ben Harris, Neil R. Mehrotra, and Eric So, show with their research that the nature of the AI shock is vital.

“The use of AI in preventive care and early detection of diseases could lead to a reduction in morbidity rates, contributing to a healthier population that requires less medical intervention over time,” the authors write.

The researchers find AI is promising for diagnostics, optimizing treatment plans, monitoring patients’ health, and predicting flare-ups for chronic conditions. This, the authors note, could reduce the need for in-person healthcare and alleviate capacity constraints.

“These advances in AI have the potential to dramatically alter the scope of federal spending on old-age entitlement programs, which can subsequently alter the fiscal trajectory.…[E]xisting AI systems may lower expenditures on all health spending, including Medicare, with cost reductions occurring through several channels—with personalized medicine being a prominent example,” according to the researchers.