Report: While major players aim to lead AI-tech pack, major adoption still a ways off

While billions of dollars are being poured into healthcare artificial intelligence plays with major companies leading the way, the technology still has a long way to go until it’s challenging the expertise of doctors on the front lines, according to a new Xconomy report.

To reach that point, companies will not only have to invest more time and manpower to develop the tools, but will also have to explore and answer questions about job automation in healthcare and the nature of algorithms at the core of the AI systems, according to the report.

Machine learning and AI tools are estimated to be within 3 years from wide use, according to some experts referenced in the report, but it could be at least 10 years before such tools broadly permeate the field.

Leading the pack of AI healthcare dev is IBM‘s (NYSE:IBM) Watson Health, who has reportedly spent over $4 billion in the past 2 years acquiring other healthcare computing companies and expanding its AI capabilities, according to the report.

But IBM Watson could be facing major competition from mega conglomerate GE Healthcare (NYSE:GE), who has announced 3 partnerships with high-profile medical care and research institutions to develop AI software and tools, Xconomy said.

While the 2 large firms lead the way, major innovations in the healthcare AI sector could likely come from Silicon Valley tech giants Google (NSDQ:GOOG), Amazon (NSDQ:AMZN) and Apple (NSDQ:AAPL). Both Apple and Google have already invested significantly in the field, and have shown themselves to be innovators of disruptive technologies, according to the report.

And while Amazon has not yet ventured deeply into healthcare, outside developers are using its Alexa voice-controlled speaker devices in unique ways in healthcare environments.

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