Can artificial intelligence reshape healthcare without deepening inequalities or outpacing the rules designed to govern it? Experts will debate the boundaries of Europe’s digital health future at Euronews Health Summit on 17 March in Brussels.
Artificial intelligence (AI) and other new technologies are transforming healthcare, driving advances in diagnostics, drug development, and easing the workload of healthcare professionals.
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Many European countries are already using AI in their health systems. Finland, for example, uses it to train health workers, Estonia is applying it to medical data analysis, and Spain is using AI for disease detection.
If there is one thing experts agree on when talking about artificial intelligence in health, it is that it will never, or should never, replace a health worker.
“AI is already a reality for millions of health workers and patients across the European Region,” said Hans Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, in a recent statement.
“But without clear strategies, data privacy, legal guardrails, and investment in AI literacy, we risk deepening inequities rather than reducing them,” he added.
With the many advantages technological innovation brings to healthcare, there are also many risks: data privacy, access, and representation in the algorithms.
AI across the health system
There is also a shortage of the health workforce worldwide, deepened by an ageing population, which is straining health systems.
Some countries are already partnering with AI companies to help ease the pressure and facilitate access.
In January 2026, the Gates Foundation and OpenAI announced a $50 million (€43.6 million) in funding, technology, and technical support to build AI health capacities in African countries. Starting in Rwanda, they aim to reach 1,000 primary healthcare clinics by 2028.
Doctors in Europe are using AI scribe tools to reduce the amount of time they spend taking notes and doing paperwork, allowing them to spend more time with patients.
AI is also starting to be developed for diagnosis, which could accelerate the process and allow earlier access to treatment.
Mind the risks
But all that glitters is not gold. With the rapid expansion of AI, concerns and warnings from experts are also increasing.
Recent research has shown that language models may be a dangerous tool when looking for medical advice, as they don’t always correctly assess urgency.
Experts have also warned of the sensitivity of biological data and the need for concrete frameworks for how AI models can access it.
The gaps in legal accountability, uneven investments in workforce development, and emerging risks of exclusion underscore the need for continued vigilance, cooperation, and learning, the WHO warned in a recent report.
The organisation found that only 8 percent of its member states have issued a national health-specific AI strategy, “an urgent reminder that ambition must be matched with concrete action”.
As technology evolves, the questions may not be what AI can do in health, but who gets to decide how, and for whom it does it.
What happens when algorithms are trained on non-representative data? Who has access to the data AI models use? Who should regulate this, and how?
Experts working at the intersection of artificial intelligence and health will discuss these questions during the Euronews Health Summit on 17 March in Brussels.
