"Trust Is Key to Healthcare in the AI Era," World Bio Summit Speakers Agree

CHIO Hightower, CEO Yoon Hoyoung, and Others Attend

Global leaders in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries agreed that building trust in AI-based diagnoses and prescriptions must come first if healthcare is to be transformed in the age of artificial intelligence (AI). They also stressed the need for industry-academia-research collaboration to address the fragmentation of medical information, as well as a management framework covering the entire process, from AI development to real-world implementation.

Eric Sutherland, senior health economist at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), presents during the “New Science: The Future AI Will Bring” session at the 2026 World Bio Summit at COEX Magok in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, on the 21st. Photo by Lee Seohee.

Eric Sutherland, principal health economist at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), said on October 21 at the session “New Science: The Future AI Will Bring” at the 2026 World Bio Summit, held at COEX Magok in Gangseo-gu, Seoul: “In the healthcare of the future, doctors will be replaced by avatars, and patients will no longer interact with people, only with their mobile phones. Patients will learn their diagnosis from AI before seeing a doctor, and trust in AI will be a key factor in healthcare throughout this process.”

Sutherland pointed to the problem of “fragmentation” emerging in the use of AI and stressed that mutual trust among academia, industry and research institutions is also essential in the AI era. “Many healthcare institutions are already using AI, but information is so fragmented that it is difficult even to access the AI diagnostic processes or results of medical professionals at another institution just 1 km away,” he said. “Despite having accumulated vast amounts of information, we are not fully benefiting from the system.” He added, “Trust between academia and industry is essential, and we need to work together to consider how to use AI effectively.”

Maia Hightower, chief health information officer (CHIO) at Moffitt Cancer Center, also cited errors in AI diagnoses and prescriptions as a concern and said the reliability of AI must be improved. Hightower described a case in which an older patient received an incorrect diagnosis from AI and was unable to receive insurance benefits. “AI creates many opportunities for patients, but it also exposes them to significant risks,” she said. “We need to build trust to ensure that everyone benefits fairly from AI-based healthcare.”

Yoon Hoyoung, CEO of Curiosis, stressed the importance of transparency and performance verification in real-world medical settings as medical AI becomes commercialized. “Ensuring the safety of medical AI cannot rely solely on companies’ voluntary technology development,” Yoon said. “We need a management framework covering the entire process, from government regulation and corporate disclosure to verification by medical institutions and appeals by patients.”

The World Bio Summit has been jointly hosted every year since 2022 by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the World Health Organization (WHO) to respond to infectious disease crises and strengthen global health security. This year’s event, themed “Expanding the Spread of Biohealth Innovation to Be Brought About by AI,” is being held over two days, October 21 and 22.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.