Thrive Global Launches Thrive AI Health
Thrive AI Health is sponsored by OpenAI Startup Fund and Thrive Global.
Founder and CEO of Thrive Global Arianna Huffington, and OpenAI’s Sam Altman, in a TIME article, outlined their goal for artificial intelligence (AI)-driven healthcare transformation.[1]
Moreover, they also announced the launch of Thrive AI Health, a new company that has been sponsored by the OpenAI Startup Fund and Thrive Global, whose main aim is to build an AI health coach for democratizing expert-level health coaching.
Currently, at least 129 million Americans live with one major chronic disease, which accounts for around 90% of the nation's $4.1 trillion annual healthcare cost. Altman and Huffington maintain that this is a problem with a solution through behavior change, which acts as a “miracle drug” for both the prevention and treatment of diseases.
AI is already accelerating progress in medicine with breakthrough drug development and diagnostics. Color Health, partnering with OpenAI on an AI copilot for cancer screening and treatment planning, became a harbinger of AI's potential. But, as Altman and Huffington point out, human health is most fundamentally changed by five daily behaviors: sleep, nutrition, exercise, the management of stress, and social connection.
The AI health coach will be trained with the help of peer-reviewed science and will feature through a gamut running from Thrive AI Health's AI Health Coach mobile app to incorporation into the enterprise products at Thrive Global. It shall, in addition, utilize personal biometric and medical data to serve its users. It offers real-time, individualized recommendations for healthier daily habits.
For instance, a busy professional with diabetes could receive timely reminders to keep blood sugar under control by managing medication and meal suggestions.
Altman and Huffington said that using AI in this way can enhance the benefits of behavior change, making it accessible to more people, especially those facing health inequities. A hyper-personalized AI health coach could provide affordable, practical advice, like a quick, healthy recipe to replace a fast-food meal.
The new firm will also support mental and emotional health by using AI to help people make healthier choices that nourish their mental well-being.
Many experts agree that AI will be a powerful ally and not a replacement for healthcare workers.
PwC estimates that AI could inject around $15.7 trillion into the global economy by 2030. In the Middle East, the figure is projected at approximately $320 billion--with Saudi Arabia and the UAE as the major gainers.
