Insight 5

AI, digital health and sector convergence

The panellists emphasised the need to connect the biotech sector with the digitisation of health. In the national context, George Freeman argued that the NHS remains too analogue. Without reform, the UK risks falling behind in an era where AI is revolutionising diagnostics, drug discovery, and personalised care. He also warned of a public-private divide in the outgoing AI and digital revolution.

We risk a scenario where citizens have access to cutting-edge consumer health tools, but the NHS remains analogue. That’s dangerous.”

In terms of London, George Freeman pointed out that it has a population of 10 million has every disease area required for trials—yet few citizens are digitally connected to research efforts. He called for a "TfL for Health" to empower London’s healthcare ecosystem with the same coherence that transformed transport.

‘’TfL for Health‘’

Laura Citron described London as being especially well-positioned to lead in applied AI—both in pushing science forward and transforming creative, commercial, and financial industries.

She said London's unique strength is:

‘’Breadth and depth.‘’

We’re not just at the frontier—we’re brilliant at applying AI to sectors like finance, fashion, built environment, film, and health. That’s where we will grow."

Big Tech seems to agree. DeepMind was founded in London in 2010 and remains rooted in the capital, despite its acquisition by Google in 2014. The start-up was founded by Sir Demis Hassabis (who was knighted last year), Shane Legg and Mustafa Suleyman. Sir Demis, a 48-year old Londoner and a Nobel Prize winner, first met Legg at the Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit at UCL. Microsoft, Apple, and Salesforce have similarly all invested heavily in London-based AI R&D.

They see London as the place to apply frontier science across real industries," Laura Citron said.