AI Revolution in Biomedical Research: $130 Million Investment by NIH!

In a groundbreaking move, the National Institutes of Health has committed to investing $130 million over the next four years, pending the availability of funds, to accelerate the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in biomedical and behavioral research. The NIH Common Fund's Bridge to Artificial Intelligence (Bridge2AI) program will bring together diverse disciplines and backgrounds to develop tools, resources, and richly detailed data sets that are compatible with AI technologies. Moreover, the program will ensure that these tools and data do not perpetuate inequities or ethical issues that may arise during data collection and analysis. Lawrence A. Tabak, D.D.S., Ph.D., Performing the Duties of the Director of NIH, said, "The solutions to long-standing challenges in human health are at our fingertips, and now is the time to connect researchers and AI technologies to tackle our most difficult research questions and ultimately help improve human health." AI is already being used in biomedical research and healthcare, but its widespread adoption has been limited, partly due to challenges in applying AI technologies to diverse data types. The Bridge2AI program aims to address these challenges by creating well-described and ethically created data sets, standards, and best practices for generating biomedical and behavioral data that is ready for AI analyses. In addition to creating tools and best practices for making data AI-ready, Bridge2AI will produce a variety of diverse data types for the research community to use in AI analyses. These include voice and other data to help identify abnormal changes in the body, data that can be used to make new connections between complex genetic pathways and changes in cell shape or function, and AI-ready data to help improve decision-making in critical care settings and uncover complex biological processes underlying an individual's recovery from illness. With this significant investment, the NIH is paving the way for a new era of biomedical research, where AI technologies will play a pivotal role in addressing some of the most pressing human health challenges.