Leslie Walker, our District 6330 2021-22 Global Scholar, recently presented her ongoing doctoral studies to the Rotary Club of Goderich, her sponsoring club. Leslie is attending the Vienna University of Technology in their Doctorate of Social and Economic Studies program. Her thesis, “Societal Implications of Artificial Intelligence – A Comparison of Use and Impact of Artificial Narrow Intelligence in Patient Care between Resource-Rich and Resource-Poor Regions and Suggested Policies to Counter the Growing Public Health Gap” is exceptionally well aligned to Rotary’s focus area of ‘Disease Prevention and Treatment’ through the use of Artificial Intelligence’s (AI) in both medical diagnostics and treatment. Leslie has observed that there are currently significant biases in how we treat and research health and disease between genders and cultures. Historically medical data has used males as the default patient type, which has resulted in significant data bias when treating women. This is especially concerning when emerging technologies such as AI rely on accurate and robust data in order to make logical and accurate medical decisions/outputs. Women’s health care will benefit from databases that align with their gender. The third area of focus linked to Leslie’s thesis is related to ‘Economic and community development’ and her focus on geographical areas with low levels of resources. Based on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, it is very difficult for a region to become increasingly advanced (socially, economically, etc.) when it is plagued by major diseases such as polio. Using technology and policy changes can allow AI systems to be better used in these environments to foster community development.Meet our District 6330 2021-22 Global Scholar
Leslie Walker, our District 6330 2021-22 Global Scholar, recently presented her ongoing doctoral studies to the Rotary Club of Goderich, her sponsoring club. Leslie is attending the Vienna University of Technology in their Doctorate of Social and Economic Studies program. Her thesis, “Societal Implications of Artificial Intelligence – A Comparison of Use and Impact of Artificial Narrow Intelligence in Patient Care between Resource-Rich and Resource-Poor Regions and Suggested Policies to Counter the Growing Public Health Gap” is exceptionally well aligned to Rotary’s focus area of ‘Disease Prevention and Treatment’ through the use of Artificial Intelligence’s (AI) in both medical diagnostics and treatment. Leslie has observed that there are currently significant biases in how we treat and research health and disease between genders and cultures. Historically medical data has used males as the default patient type, which has resulted in significant data bias when treating women. This is especially concerning when emerging technologies such as AI rely on accurate and robust data in order to make logical and accurate medical decisions/outputs. Women’s health care will benefit from databases that align with their gender. The third area of focus linked to Leslie’s thesis is related to ‘Economic and community development’ and her focus on geographical areas with low levels of resources. Based on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, it is very difficult for a region to become increasingly advanced (socially, economically, etc.) when it is plagued by major diseases such as polio. Using technology and policy changes can allow AI systems to be better used in these environments to foster community development.