AI in Healthcare

We had an interview with Michael, a founder and investor, who shared very insightful perspectives on AI and healthcare.

1. As Head of Voice/Speech at Scale AI, what are the most exciting developments in the field right now?

Everything related to human emotion and tone (prosody, pitch, amplitude, tempo, stress, etc.) is a source of extreme research focus. If you've played around with any of the voice AI bots, it's still pretty easy to tell that they are robots / AI (sometimes because of latency, but oftentimes because of just the fact that they don't sound human). Eventually AI therapists will become much more common and that's because AI will be able to emotionally understand you as a person.

2. How do you balance technical leadership with entrepreneurial vision across your roles?

Entrepreneurial vision is pretty synonymous with technical leadership. The way you should think about it is the way that Elon Musk thinks about his "Master Plan" at Tesla (https://www.tesla.com/secret-master-plan). It begins with a large grand vision of how you can transform the world and what it should look like. This translates to the "tech" or "product" that helps take you from current state of the world to future state. Finally, you talk about ownership and who will help you build this.

3. How do you see AI transforming patient care in the next 5–10 years?

Most of healthcare labor spend is not even on caregiving. Most of it is in the compliance / paperwork required to serve patients. Imagine if even a fraction of that labor and talent could go towards improving patients’ outcomes, instead of filling out yet another CPT code etc. AI in healthcare is likely going to be the biggest step function change out of all the verticals out there.

4. What excites you most about the intersection of AI and healthcare? What concerns do you see?

Most exciting is the fact that healthcare is ripe for AI. It's a heavy reasoning task that requires pulling from many different data sources to form an opinion. And now healthcare institutions are being told by their boards they have to adopt AI! Concerns are mainly around data access and the fact that Epic has had a virtual monopoly on the whole system.

5. What challenges does AI face when it comes to supporting memory care or age-related diseases?

AI has huge potential in this space, but there are some tough challenges. First is personalization — memory care isn’t one-size-fits-all, so an AI system has to adapt to each person’s needs, preferences, and disease progression. Second is trust and safety: caregivers and families need to feel confident that the AI is reliable, ethical, and respects privacy. Third is the human element — technology can’t replace human connection, and if AI tools feel cold or clinical, they won’t truly help.

6. What advice would you give to a high school student interested in startups or healthcare innovation?

Start by getting curious and diving deep into problems that matter to you. Build a foundation in both science and empathy: understand the biology or tech, but also the people you’re trying to help. Don’t be afraid to experiment, even on a small scale; early projects and prototypes teach you more than endless planning. Also critical to find mentors and to surround yourself with peers who are excited about big ideas! And changing the world :)

7. If a high school student wants to make a difference in healthcare without going to med school, what paths would you suggest?

Healthcare needs way more than just doctors. Just look at my answer to (3)! If you care about making an impact, you could come in through design, data science, engineering, or even policy. Think about all the “invisible” problems in the system — patient experience, access, affordability, logistics, compliance — these are problems that technologists, entrepreneurs, and designers can actually fix faster than anyone else. For example, someone passionate about AI could work on clinical decision support or reducing paperwork.

If you’d like to connect with Michael, please visit his LinkedIn page.