Video: Why you should get involved in the AI product lifecycle

If you’re utilizing AI technology in your clinic, do you know how that particular AI product came to be? Were any veterinarians involved in its creation?

“One of the key things with artificial intelligence is, it’s here and we have to embrace it because it’s not going away,” said Liz Barton, MA, VetMB, MRCVS, MCIPR, head of communications at VetCT (and, as you may recall, cofounder of WellVet, where she’s pushing forward the menopause in vet med conversation). “And the trouble is, if we don’t embrace it as veterinary professionals, there’s nothing to stop AI developers distributing direct to pet owners, which effectively cuts the veterinary professionals out of the loop.”

But avoiding the direct-to-consumer pipeline is far from the only reason why Barton, who penned a recent paper on AI, feels so strongly about veterinary professionals getting into the mix.

“I think it’s vital, particularly at this age and stage—where AI is really starting to expand across the board, but also in the pet and healthcare, animal health care space—that as vets, we’re involved in all stages of AI product lifecycle,” she said.

Understanding that product lifecycle (and how you can be involved) is a great first move. Barton described several of the steps within that cycle:

• Ideation
• Knowing where the training data comes from
• Making sure the AI models are using the data from above appropriately
• Product rollout, which includes the messaging around said product
• Following up to ensure the product is actually benefiting animal welfare in the way it claims it will
• Making sure that feedback loop continues throughout the lifecycle of that AI product

Looking for a real-life example? Consider the AI your clients are using to track their pets movement, health, symptoms, etc. “How do we know if we can trust that? How do we take that and use it in our health advice and care management plans?” Barton asked. Right now, she acknowledges that we don’t have much guidance on this front—but she believes that means there’s a huge opportunity for veterinary organizations to step in and provide framework that veterinarians in practice can use.

As for taking a practical approach to getting involved, Barton has a simple suggestion: Simply be interested and informed.

“Listen to podcasts on AI, get involved in the discussion, and start to learn what good AI looks like,” she said. Her paper, which is freely available through the VetCT website, shares some of the principles we can look at for understanding the data; understanding whether a veterinarian has been involved in the full product lifestyle is a major point.

Of course, use and implementation is also part of that lifecycle, and for those who feel a bit unsure about bowing down to the AI overlords, she recommends adopting technology that uses technology, people, and power that already exists. “So, it’s people through technology, rather than technology through people,” she explained, using the example of teleradiology, a specialist consultancy that is delivered through technology, “but it’s people behind that technology.”

The more veterinary professionals who become involved in these products, from start to end, the better those products will serve the clients and pets they want to help. Then, Barton said, “Technology of any shape or form, whether it has artificial or human intelligence in different ratios, actually becomes a really empowering tool and builds trust in that technology and enables us to use it to best inform good patient care.”

Photo credit: © Liz Barton

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