European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen highlighted healthcare as a key priority in her State of the Union speech, outlining flagship initiatives for the year ahead.
She emphasized that while artificial intelligence can be leveraged for the greater good in the European Union, it must never supplant medical professionals.
“I want my doctors to have immediate AI access to the data required for optimal diagnostic and treatment decisions, of course,” von der Leyen stated during her address to the European Parliament. “However, I do not want them to become AI-assisted robots, nor do I want a machine to tell me whether I have cancer.”
Despite these caveats, the EU chief acknowledged that AI tools capable of processing vast amounts of data are advancing healthcare, and Europe must be positioned to benefit from these developments.
Von der Leyen, a former physician herself, pointed to healthcare as a prime example of technological progress that can profoundly benefit society, stressing that such advancements must follow a distinctly “European way.”
“AI-assisted mammography can detect more cancers at earlier stages during screening, ultimately saving more lives. Therefore, we need AI for health,” she noted.
Early detection is crucial in the fight against cancer, and numerous studies and clinical trials indicate that AI can identify the disease faster than conventional methods.
Beyond cancer screening, artificial intelligence is revolutionizing the broader healthcare sector by driving innovations in diagnostics, accelerating drug development, and alleviating the administrative burden on medical professionals.
Physicians Must Remain at the Forefront
As AI technology expands rapidly, concerns among experts are also mounting. The Commission president cautioned that medical professionals must never be replaced, regardless of AI advancements.
Recent studies have demonstrated that language models can be hazardous when seeking medical advice, as they frequently fail to accurately assess the urgency of a situation.
Specialists have further cautioned regarding the sensitivity of biological data and the necessity of establishing concrete frameworks to govern how AI models access such information.
The World Health Organization recently warned that gaps in legal accountability, uneven investments in workforce development, and emerging risks of exclusion highlight the need for ongoing vigilance, cooperation, and learning.
The organization discovered that merely 8% of its member states have implemented a national health-specific AI strategy, calling it an “urgent reminder that ambition must be matched with concrete action.”
During her speech, President von der Leyen announced “game-changing initiatives” set to be presented in November, targeting the highest-value sectors where industrial AI holds the greatest potential and where data is abundant: health, transport, agri-food, advanced manufacturing, and defense and space.
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