Provost, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Prof. Ademola Oremosu, has urged medical professionals to maximise the limitless opportunities of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Speaking at the Eighth Felix Oladejo Dosekun Memorial Lecture in Lagos yesterday, he submitted that a surgeon in  Nigeria could perform an operation on a patient in the United States through the aid of AI.

He said: “We are in an age where you cannot ignore AI. We can’t stay behind the rest of the world. We now have human knowledge being transferred to machines. We now use machines to get things done faster. Machines are able to process information that will take humans time to process.

“Today, there is AI, Internet of Things, robotics and driverless cars.”

The guest speaker/President of DREMO Foundation, Dr. Emi Membere-Otaji, who spoke on the topic, ‘Medical curriculum and artificial intelligence: The meeting point and path to follow’, observed that the Fourth Industrial Revolution AI has come to be part of man’s daily life, impacting him in almost every sphere of life.

Membere-Otaji, who is also the MD/CEO of Elshcon Group, added: “The intersection between the medical curriculum and AI is now clearly obvious in the training of medical and dental professionals, as well as in the practice of medicine.

This integration can only become more precise and expansive, and in the future.

“AI will be the norm rather than the exception. Man and machine, working together in collaboration, to enhance both medical training and practice for greater efficiency and improved outcomes.”

Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos, Prof. Folashade Ogunsola, represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Development Services), Prof. Ayodele Atsenuwa, allayed fears surrounding AI, assserting that the technology has come to stay.