Rising Stars!

The AI's Impact on SDGs Online Forum has kicked off! To facilitate intercultural discussions and broaden students' worldviews, we are using a 5-point system for scoring to encourage the development of lines of inquiry. Everyone had a chance to try out the system to see how it works during the Warm-up Week by understanding how their own county is tackling this challenge before teaming up to take on the world.

Here is a winning example from Riko Hashimoto, a representative from Shonan Shirayuri Gakuen (Japan) titled "How is AI used and developing in Japan? Is there any relation to SDGs?" Not only did Riko explain the current development of AI in Japan and why it is important, she also reflected upon the specific challenges it may bring to healthcare. Here are her observations, backed by credible sources, and ending with clear questions:

I am from Japan and in Japan, AI is being used in many situations, both business and personal.In 2023, 73% of people have used chatGPT before. (JETRO, 2024) From this we can say that AI is becoming more and more familiar to Japanese people. Also, recently Japan is facing the problem of declining birthrate and aging population.Thus, the worker population is shrinking, and to make up for it, jobs that were previously done by humans are being delegated to AI. Especially in healthcare, AI can easily care for people who cannot come directly to the hospital.Japan’s healthcare sector is home to a burgeoning AI-fuelled start-up scene and new AI healthcare tools aim to improve the speed and accuracy with which doctors can diagnose cancer, influenza and heart disease, among other illnesses.(Naoko Kutty, WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM, 2023) AI is very useful in these situations though, it can also make mistakes like humans and there are still a lot of problems with using it correctly. In healthcare, we cannot deny the risks of misdiagnosis and there is a challenge of approval of AI devices and systems that can take a year or more and cannot be used immediately. Additionally, healthcare providers find it challenging to acquire insurance for those AI tools. (Medical Japan, 2024) This AI in healthcare is directly related to Good Health and Well-being (SDGs 3).AI will make it possible to cure diseases that cannot be cured now, and to respond more quickly to patients. On the other hand, as I explained before, there are still challenges to using it.  How can Japan overcome these difficulties and utilize AI more?

As a continuation of the inquiry, here is a fantastic response from Vatsalya Srivastava, a fellow forum mate from Strawberry Fields High School (India):

Hi Riko, to answer your question, Japan could possibly take the following steps:

1. Working on public trust and training employees: One of the main reasons for misdiagnosis could be due to employees not being trained to work with it. AI should support doctors, not replace them. By training healthcare workers on AI tools and openly discussing its role, Japan can build trust, ensuring patients know AI is there to help, not harm (Kutty, 2023).

2. Introduce faster approval methods: As you mentioned, it takes time for AI tools to be approved. Japan could introduce faster approval processes while ensuring safety. Collaboration between government, start-ups, and doctors is key to balancing innovation with patient care (Kutty, 2023)

3. Privacy of data: In healthcare, it is crucial to keep the data of the patients private and protected, this ensures the trust of the patients. Japan needs to ensure that healthcare data is securely managed and shared transparently, so people feel safe trusting AI with their health decisions (Kutty, 2023).

Beyond the excellent discussions, Team Coaches gave points based on team spirit and Forum Director gave points based on participation. It is not a small feat for Riko to win the title of Rising Star! Congratulations to both Riko and Vatsalya for giving great examples of the kind of thoughtful and passionate changemakers we want to see in the new generation.

You may follow the score sheet to see all rising stars who are shining light on our joint future - AI and SDGs.