What a fantastic start to 2020! We have been on stage with Google, Microsoft, Siemens, Roche, Bayer, AstraZeneca, Novartis, Janssen and many others, as we continue to drive the adoption of AI for life sciences in Europe and encourage pharma to leap ahead in the intelligence race.
So what have we been up to?
Women In Technology
Our CEO Loubna Bouarfa celebrated women in technology in the city of Cambridge. Ten top female innovators shared experiences and wisdom over dinner at Murray Edwards College.
“We are incredibly proud to be based in one of the top tech cities in Europe. Cambridge is a hub of creativity and innovation. It’s amazing to have such a tech-supportive community!” – said Loubna Bouarfa.
European Commission’s Digital Europe Programme Workshop
In our compromise with the development of trustworthy AI in Europe, OKRA contributed to a workshop at the European Commission, regarding Reference Testing and Experiment facilities in Healthcare. This workshop was part of the Digital Europe Programme, which aims to bring state-of-the art technology to real-world environments.
Loubna Bouarfa interacted with Member States representatives, experts, companies, and Research & Technology Organisations (RTOs). “At OKRA, we’re so proud of supporting the development of the first work programme of the Digital Europe Programme.”
R&D Data Intel Leaders Forum
“AI is fundamental to accelerate innovation across life sciences, but this will only be possible if AI outputs are explainable. Only with explainable AI can we improve the quality of decision-making. AI should empower users, not bypass them.”
This was the key takeaway from Loubna Bouarfa’s presentation at the 7th edition of the R&D Data Intel Leaders Forum. NextLevel Life Sciences organised a fantastic event in Basel (Switzerland), and united thought leaders from pharma and technology.
Our CEO also participated in a panel discussion about technology and the future of medicine, sharing the stage with experts from Google Cloud, Roche, Bayer and Siemens Healthineers.
FutureHealth Basel
OKRA rounded up the month at FutureHealth Basel. Loubna Bouarfa: “What I really like about this conference is that it brings the patient into the conversation. It was the first time for me to share the stage with patients, and it was really insightful to get their perspective.”
Our CEO took part in two different sessions. First, during her presentation, she addressed the impact of AI in healthcare. “AI has the potential to make preventive medicine a reality. Our current healthcare systems are waiting for people to get sick, and I believe that AI can make the shift to more proactive systems.”
Finally, Loubna Bouarfa co-hosted a workshop about trust and transparency in AI. She worked together with Marisa Tschopp (researcher at scip AG) and Heidi Dohse (Senior Programme Manager at Google Cloud). For Loubna, to overcome the barrier of trust and adopt AI effectively, we need to get ready to embrace uncertainty.
“Our strength as human beings is our ability to face and tolerate uncertainty, and our capability to learn, adapt and unfold our power. And that’s what we’re striving for when designing AI systems.”
Indeed, OKRA had a great start of the year. We are looking forward to the remaining 11 months of 2020, where we will continue the journey of bringing the right treatment to the right patient at speed. Stay tuned!