Should we worry about AI in health care? – with Neil Lawrence

The headlines are bloodcurdling. AI ‘could wipe out humanity’, with varying probabilities attached to an extinction-level event. But what lies behind these apocalyptic predictions and how worried should we really be?

In a high-risk area like health care, safe, responsible use of AI technologies will be critical. This month saw publication of the national commission’s final report into the regulation of AI in health care. The commission sets out a blueprint for regulation of AI in health care and calls AI ‘… one of the most significant opportunities to improve health care in a generation.’ So how does policy need to evolve to realise these opportunities and minimise the extraordinary risks? 

Our Chief Executive, Jennifer Dixon, is joined by Neil Lawrence, DeepMind Professor of Machine Learning at the University of Cambridge and author of The Atomic Human, a book that explores what AI means for humanity and our identity. 

The National Commission into the Regulation of AI in Healthcare was established to advise the MHRA. Neil Lawrence and Jennifer Dixon served as members. Its final report was published in September 2026.

Show notes

UK government. National commission into the regulation of AI in healthcare. 

Health Foundation (2026). The public’s views on the regulation of AI in health care. 

HSJ (2026). Trust in AI matters more than efficiency to the public. 

Financial Times (2026). Medical AI has a proof problem. 

Health Foundation (2026). Testing and spreading AI in health care: the case for rapid revolution. 

Neil Lawrence (2024). The Open Society and its AI.