Artificial Intelligence in Population Health: PHIS 2024

February 7, 2025

On June 6, 2024, NYSTEC held its Population Health Innovation Summit (PHIS), focusing on artificial intelligence in population health. The event was on-site at the Capital Center in Albany.

The 2024 summit was the first fully in-person summit following the COVID-19 pandemic. Launched in 2017, PHIS is supported by NYSTEC’s Population Health Strategy team.

Artificial Intelligence in Population Health

This year’s summit showcased innovative programs, partnerships, and research across New York State that addressed artificial intelligence (AI) in population health. The summit provided a platform for industry leaders, healthcare professionals, information security professionals, policymakers, and researchers to come together and explore the transformative potential of AI in improving population health outcomes.

During the event, speakers discussed their various initiatives, success stories, and lessons learned for the future. These speakers came from a variety of backgrounds – state agencies, the private sector, the New York State governor’s office, research universities, health systems, professors, and businesspeople. They were and are all focused on how AI is transforming their world and population health – from healthcare and safety to emergency response, disease research, policy, disability advocacy, and more.

“We share the same vision of embracing creative solutions to improve health for all New Yorkers— and demonstrate that by doing more in partnership across fields and disciplines, we can hope to establish trust and create effective, lasting change in public health by leveraging the power of AI,” said NYSTEC President & CEO Kevin Owens.

The Day at a Glance

Participants enjoyed a full day of presentations and discussions, facilitated by sports reporter and New England Sports Network host Chelsea Sherrod as master of ceremonies.

Keynote on How We Got Here and Where We Are Going

During this keynote presentation, Dr. Toole explored the history of AI, from its humble beginnings in academic research to its current state as a powerful tool used in a wide variety of applications. He discussed the key developments that have led to the rise of AI, including data science, big data, machine learning, deep learning, and most recently generative AI. Along the way, he highlighted key opportunities and risks when adopting this technology in organizations and policy creation.

Keynote on The Future of Healthcare

The second keynote featured Rohini Kosoglu, as she shared her background in healthcare innovation and policy as well as her expertise in the future of healthcare when it comes to AI innovation. Kosoglu worked on the Biden administration’s timely AI Bill of Rights, one of the first legal documents addressing AI. She is a Venture Partner at Fusion Fund – a venture firm that focuses on early-stage technology and health care investments – and director of innovation policy at the Stanford Byers Center for Biodesign. She weighed the opportunities to tap into healthcare’s rich data against the potential pitfalls of inequitable technological application and broke down the need-to-know on healthcare and AI.

Panel on Creating a Culture of Responsible AI Solutions

Following the keynote presentations was a panel discussion on the responsible use of AI. From government oversight to emergency response, healthcare, transportation, and disability advocacy, the panelists explored the implications of AI deployment and how to foster a culture of ethical innovation.

Presentation on Navigating the Data-Driven Era in Public and Population Health

The next presentation following lunch addressed the factors that shape health in and out of the hospital, as well as the resulting distribution of such outcomes across groups and the inequities that result in disparities. This talk explored how we are integrating data and AI into public and population health efforts in New York, emphasizing the importance of capacity building for public health professionals.

Panel on AI Innovation in Population Health

The final panel of the day featured leading experts engaging in a discussion on innovative applications of artificial intelligence in healthcare. From pioneering cancer research to environmental health monitoring, this session featured leaders, researchers, and scientists that use AI to make a difference in population health. The discussion covered both the potential and real-life applications of AI across multiple fields and highlighted the vast impact that AI is having on the healthcare innovation landscape.