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By
Alexandra Kelley,Staff Correspondent, Nextgov/FCW
OpenAI Foundation, the overarching nonprofit that governs OpenAI, has announced a new public health partnership with the Common Health Coalition to bring artificial intelligence tools to developing scientific breakthroughs for medical research across the country.
OpenAI Foundation on Thursday announced its commitment of $100 million to the Breakthroughs to Follow-Through Initiative, a program where states and other local jurisdictions can accelerate medical treatment research deliveries for serious health conditions. Participating jurisdictions will be able to determine what types of AI tools, including generative AI, are needed for their individual projects
The B2F’s research funding will initially focus on hepatitis C treatment development. Local organizations and non-profits will be in charge of dispersing grant money — first in states including Alabama, Illinois, Louisiana and Massachusetts. More state participants will be unveiled in the coming six months.
“The organizations closest to society’s greatest challenges have the deepest understanding of what communities need, but not always the reI,” Anna Makanju, Head of AI for Civil Society and Philanthropy at OpenAI Foundation, said in a press release. “We believe this initiative is a model for how AI can strengthen public and community health work and deliver tangible benefits to communities.”
Makanju told Nextgov/FCW that the foundation’s grants aren’t tied to one AI platform or system provider, granting participants flexibility in the tools they choose.
“We want our partners to have the agency to decide which tools to use — or what not to use — and to choose what best fits their needs and the communities they serve,” she said.
Dave Chokshi, the chair of the Common Health Coalition, echoed Makanju’s sentiment.
“Jurisdictions will determine which tools are needed to help ensure existing medical breakthroughs actually reach the people who need them,” Chokshi told Nextgov/FCW. “These tools range from identifying people overdue for screening or treatment, to outreach platforms for re-engaging patients, AI copilots that free up clinicians’ time, navigation tools that keep patients on track through cure, and beyond, and are intended to support the human relationships at the center of care.”
In addition to offering access to advanced AI tools, Chokshi said that B2F will provide the infrastructure needed to facilitate the implementation and usage of AI tools, such as technical support to help shift from the pilot stage into deployment.
The current focus of B2F is to foster collaborative state-level partnerships, but Chokshi said they are open to participation from the federal government.
“We remain very open to partnership and collaboration with the federal government as this work develops,” said Chokshi
A similar initiative was previously floated in congressional legislation. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, introduced his bill on July 9, — the Accelerating Innovation for Kids with Cancer Act — to allocate more federal attention to leveraging AI to aid pediatric cancer research efforts.
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