AI in Action | February 2024
Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to help us solve the greatest challenges of our time from health care, agriculture, and education to transportation, energy, and national security.
When guided by ethics, transparency, and fairness, responsible AI can spark creativity and help usher in a more prosperous and sustainable future.
See how AI is improving our lives, growing our economy, and keeping us safe.
RetiSpec is Making Early Detection of Alzheimer’s More Accurate and Affordable
Current techniques for identifying Alzheimer’s disease are expensive and typically involve a spinal tap or a PET scan. RetiSpec, a medical imaging company, developed an AI system that can analyze eye scans and detect signs of Alzheimer’s up to 20 years before symptoms appear. RetiSpec’s AI reads eye scans from a camera that can be attached to machines available in most optometrists’ offices to detect unique optical signatures that correspond with the presence of amyloid in the brain, which is associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Results are 80% accurate and are delivered within seconds instead of weeks. RetiSpec’s AI technology could make early detection of Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases much more affordable and accessible, leading to earlier interventions and treatments for many individuals, particularly those who cannot afford expensive out-of-pocket diagnostic exams. Learn more.
MIT’s AI-based Prediction System Can Improve Early Detection of Pancreatic Cancer
Pancreatic cancer is a difficult disease to detect. Patients rarely experience symptoms in the early stages, meaning that most cases are diagnosed at an advanced stage when it is harder to cure. Researchers from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) developed PRISM, an AI system that predicts a patient’s likelihood of developing pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, the most common form of pancreatic cancer. PRISM uses artificial neural networks to spot patterns in medical data, including patients’ ages, medical history, and lab results, to determine individual risk scores for developing pancreatic cancer. The system outperformed current diagnostic standards, identifying 35% of those who developed pancreatic cancer as high-risk six to 18 months before their diagnosis. The current standard screening criteria only catch around only 10% of cases. Learn more.
Scale AI and Orchard Robotics are Helping Fruit Farmers Maximize Production
Fruit farmers lose billions of dollars each year because they lack the data needed to manage crops precisely. Scale AI and Orchard Robotics developed an AI-driven precision crop management system that helps farmers prevent these losses by optimizing inputs like fertilizer, pesticides, and thinners for each tree to achieve maximum production. Using tractor-mounted, AI-powered camera systems, Orchard Robotics collects precision data about every tree single tree in an orchard and uses an AI model to extract insights from terabytes of image data on the Orchard OS software platform, allowing farmers to act on this data directly by integrating it with existing farm operations. Learn more.
AI for good: How one entrepreneur is tackling the confusion around family leave law
Reuters
Mastercard is using AI to boost fraud detection by up to 300%
CNBC
AI As Business Partner: Dispensing Advice, Handling the Paperwork
Forbes
AI Spotlight
From reducing packaging waste to democratizing data, Amazon’s unique approach to AI is helping advance and innovate on its sustainability goals. Learn more.
AI for America
AI for America’s newest ad, “This is AI,” showcases how AI is helping us work smarter and live longer. It highlights how AI is being used by doctors to detect cancer before it spreads, by scientists to predict severe weather to keep us safe, and by law enforcement to prevent fraud in real time. The ad is part of AI for America’s national expansion and can now been seen in California, Colorado, Florida, New York, and Washington, D.C. Learn more.
You can follow AI for America on Facebook, X, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram, and find more information at AI4America.com.