If Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be deployed responsibly in the fight against antimicrobial resistance (AMR), it stands to help save millions of lives.
A new report from the Fleming Initiative and Google DeepMind lays out a vision for the impact that an AI and data-driven approach to one of the world’s biggest health challenges might have.
AI, already central to delivering plans for growth and public sector transformation, presents a significant opportunity in tackling a global health threat that is set to cost almost 40 million lives by 2050. From enabling rapid diagnosis at point of need, to discovering new drugs that can tackle emerging resistant infections, and predicting the spread of resistant bacteria, AI-powered technologies could pose to be transformative in the AMR crisis.
However, ‘Harnessing the use of Artificial Intelligence in Antimicrobial Resistance’ highlights that AI systems will be far from delivering on this potential without investment in the necessary infrastructure, computing power, and training for those working in this critical area.
Uniquely positioned
The report, developed following a roundtable with global leaders at the United Nations’ High Level Meeting on AMR – only the second time ever that AMR was the meeting’s focus – managed to garner viewpoints from a wide range of experts in the field including: Dr Alain Labrique, Director for Digital Health and Innovation at the World Health Organisation; Dame Sally Davies, the UK’s Special Envoy on AMR; and Dr Daudi Jjingo, Director of the African Center of Excellence (ACE) in bioinformatics and data intensive sciences within the Infectious Diseases Institute.
Arguing that AI has great potential to reduce these inequities in AMR, the authors call on stakeholders across government, science, healthcare and industry to drive equitable participation, access, and use of data and AI systems in fighting AMR and other health challenges.
To achieve this, the authors say action must be taken to enhance the base infrastructure needed to create algorithms, including local data centres, high-performance computing, cloud capabilities and an AI-literate workforce: with changes needed now.
Finding solutions together
As a sign of commitment to the action points raised by their report, the Fleming Initiative and Google DeepMind have announced a new joint Academic Fellowship that will develop the interdisciplinary capabilities needed to realise the potential of AI in AMR.
The report highlights the urgent need to develop skills across the spectrum of diagnostics, surveillance, and therapeutic discovery – areas where AI could be revolutionary. The Fellowship aims to provide a unique opportunity to integrate learning and recognising that innovative solutions to a health challenge as complex as antimicrobial resistance must approach the problem from every angle.
Lord Darzi, Executive Chair of the Fleming Initiative, author of the ‘Independent investigation of the NHS’ which itself calls for a major tilt towards technology in healthcare, and co-author of this report, said “We know the transformative potential of AI. But we must make necessary changes across the ecosystem now to realise its potential and help save the millions of lives affected by antimicrobial resistance. I am delighted to publish this important report in collaboration with Google DeepMind to help drive this collective action.”
Media contact:
Jack Cooper (info@fleminginitiative.org)
Notes to editors
1 – The report is available online at this URL: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/stories/harnessing-artificial-intelligence-tackle-antimicrobial-resistance
2 – Report citation: A. Darzi & A. Koivuniemi et al. Harnessing Artificial Intelligence to tackle Antimicrobial Resistance, Online. Fleming Initiative, 2025
3 – About the Fleming Initiative:
Established jointly by Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, the Fleming Initiative brings together research scientists, policymakers, clinicians, behavioural experts, the public and commercial partners to provide the networks, expertise and skills to provide equitable solutions to AMR at the global scale. Learn more at www.fleminginitiative.org
Featured image credit: Illustration by Google DeepMind on Unsplash
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