National leaders in health, technology, education and policy gathered on Friday, Jan. 10, at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville to reimagine the future of community health and wellness, enabled by artificial intelligence.
Alice L. Walton School of Medicine collaborated with Stanford Medicine to host the conference titled Think Health: AI for Healthy Communities. The event featured presentations and panel discussions with leaders such as Chelsea Clinton, vice chair of the Clinton Foundation; Michael Milken, chair of the Milken Institute; Arianna Huffington, founder of Thrive Global; Peter Scher, vice chair of JPMorganChase; and many more.
Click here for a full list of Think Health: AI for Healthy Communities conference speakers and to view conference sessions.
Participants explored AI’s vast potential to enhance individual and community health, make medicine work for everyone, and prime the next generation of health leaders for impact locally and globally. The AI discussions, centered on the Heartland, brought into focus how these communities can use and benefit from today’s AI advances and develop regional capacity to meaningfully participate in the health AI revolution. Through discussions, shared learning and networking, the goal of the inaugural event was to foster future AI collaborations, investments and partnerships supporting the needs of Heartland communities and other regions facing similar health opportunities and challenges.
“Places like Northwest Arkansas stand to benefit enormously from the AI revolution that is just starting to unfold,” said Alice Walton, philanthropist and founder of the Alice L. Walton School of Medicine. “At this transformative moment, the region’s unique challenges and successes in pioneering AI for health hold profound implications for the U.S. and beyond, and the school of medicine is poised to be a leader in this field.”
“We believe that AI will make a positive impact on the future of health care,” said Sharmila Makhija, MD, MBA, the school’s founding dean and CEO. “As the school prepares to welcome its first class, we are looking forward to engaging our faculty and students to use these tools in intentional, innovative ways that reflect our whole health approach.”
“We are proud to collaborate with the Alice L. Walton School of Medicine in hosting this crucial forum,” said Lloyd Minor, MD, dean of the Stanford School of Medicine and vice president for medical affairs for Stanford University. “As AI continues to rapidly evolve, it is more important than ever that all communities have a voice in its future. The Heartland is a unique region — with many opportunities to harness AI to improve the lives and health outcomes of its people. Together, we are committed to making sure that promise is realized.”
At the event, participants also had the opportunity to experience technology demonstrations showcasing numerous AI applications in health and medicine. The showcase included a variety of solutions, including the use of virtual reality to support mental health, chat-based personal health coaches, medical education tools, clinical documentation support for providers and more.
About Alice L. Walton School of Medicine
Founded in 2021, Alice L. Walton School of Medicine (AWSOM) is a nonprofit, four-year MD program enhancing traditional medical education with the arts, humanities, and whole health principles. The School’s culture embraces self-care to empower students to care for their own well-being as well as their patients’. The School’s state-of-the-art medical education facility is under construction in Bentonville, Arkansas on the Crystal Bridges campus, home to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and Heartland Whole Health Institute. The School has been granted preliminary accreditation status by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education.