AI and the Superconvergence of Accelerating Technologies with Daniel Kraft

AAPA’s second main stage is one you don’t want to miss

May 20, 2024

To open AAPA 2024’s second main stage event, AAPA President Folusho Ogunfiditimi took the stage, reflected on his year as president, and officially passed the gavel to president-elect Jason Prevelige. “If there is one thing you remember from my time as your president, let it be this piece of advice: Raise your hand. Say yes. Take that leap of faith because you never know what doors it may open,” Ogunfiditimi said.

Prevelige then took the podium and welcomed the recipients of the 2024 AAPA Awards to the stage. This year’s selection includes a diverse group of talented and inspiring individuals from across the country. Learn more about each of these incredible awardees on the 2024 AAPA Award Recipients page.

AAPA is also happy to announce the winner of the Eugene A. Stead Jr. Lifetime Achievement Award, Richard Dehn, MPA, PA-C. Among other accomplishments, Dehn is a nationally recognized PA scholar and educator with over 170 published peer-reviewed journal articles. Previously, he has been awarded the AAPA Publishing Award in 2001, the Association of PA Programs Research Achievement Award in 2003, and the Iowa PA Society “PA of the Year” award in 2006. He was recognized as an AAPA Distinguished Fellow in 2008. To learn more about Dehn and his accomplishments, read his story on AAPA’s News Central.

How AI and the Superconvergence of Accelerating Technologies Will Shape Healthcare
On Saturday, attendees learned about how space medicine and innovation are shaping the health landscape. In today’s Main Stage Event, Daniel Kraft, a Stanford and Harvard-trained physician-scientist, inventor, entrepreneur, and investor, showcased how cutting-edge technologies are reshaping the dynamics between patients and providers and enabling significant advancements in healthcare.

Through real-world examples, Kraft provided a firsthand account of how generative AI, machine learning, digital health, and extended reality are elevating clinical decision-making and empowering healthcare providers. In an incredibly informative and entertaining presentation, Kraft provided dozens of example of how AI and technology innovations can be used in the future of health and humanity. To name only a few, some of the companies he showcased were Meta Human, Xaia, Eko, and XPrize.

Kraft’s leading piece of advice to healthcare providers like PAs is that because patient care will continue to be impacted by AI and other evolving technologies, providers will need to train not just for the bedside, but also for the “webside.”

“What’s exciting for PAs is when you use these sorts of tools to upscale yourself and your colleagues, there are all sorts of exciting ways to improve outcomes and democratize care,” Kraft said.

In his talk, Kraft also assuaged fears that providers will be replaced by technology like AI. “We’re not going to be replaced by these technologies—we’re going to be augmented,” Kraft said. “We’ll start to do things that we’d rather do, rather than some of the things that AI can enable moving forward.”

With over 25 years of experience in clinical practice, biomedical research, and healthcare innovation, Kraft is often called upon to speak to the future of health, medicine, and technology and has given four TED and two TEDMED Talks. Kraft has served as faculty chair for Medicine at Singularity University since its inception in 2008 and is founder and chair of NextMed Health (the evolution of Exponential Medicine), a program that explores convergent, rapidly developing technologies and their potential in biomedicine and healthcare. He also serves as chair of the XPRIZE Pandemic & Health Alliance and Health Brain Trust.

For anyone unable to join today’s session, keep an eye out for the recording on AAPA’s CME Central.

You May Also Like
Revolutionizing Healthcare: The Transformative Power of AI
Space Medicine with Serena Auñón-Chancellor and Hayley Arceneaux
2024 Eugene A. Stead Jr. Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient Has Strengthened the PA Profession Through Service and Research