AI Information Assistant Update
In August, we asked our members and community to help us consider what Lung Cancer Europe’s new AI information assistant should be called.
That was one part of a much wider development process. Work is continuing on the information the assistant will use, how it should respond, who will review it and how it will be tested before people can use it.
The first version is being developed specifically for people living with lung cancer and their carers. It is intended to help people understand general lung cancer information, prepare questions for their healthcare team and find further information and support.
It will not diagnose lung cancer, interpret personal test results, recommend a treatment or replace advice from a healthcare professional.
How will it be different from a general AI chatbot?
The assistant is being designed to answer from a defined lung cancer knowledge base rather than searching the open internet.
The information included in that knowledge base will go through a clinical review process. The assistant will also show the sources used to produce its answers, allowing users to see where the information has come from.
Restricting the information available to the assistant and testing how it responds are intended to reduce the risk of unsupported or inaccurate answers. However, no AI system is incapable of making mistakes. Being clear about that limitation is an important part of developing and testing the tool responsibly.
People affected by lung cancer are involved
Seven people from across Europe who are living with lung cancer or caring for someone with the disease form the project’s Patient & Caregiver Board.
The Board has already considered how the assistant should communicate with users. This includes its tone, the need to avoid false reassurance and how it should respond when somebody asks a difficult or highly personal question.
Its members will also take part in testing the assistant and reviewing whether its answers are clear, appropriate and useful.
The team behind the project
The project brings together technical development, lived experience, clinical review and organisational oversight.
Anna Keuchenius is leading the project for Lung Cancer Europe. Mariano Sastre Rivero is leading the technical development of the assistant.
The Patient & Caregiver Board provides lived-experience input. A Scientific & Clinical Board is being established to support the review of information and clinical testing. The Steering Committee provides oversight of the wider project.
Further profiles of the people involved will be published as the membership of these groups is confirmed.
What happens next?
Internal testing is planned for September. This will examine the assistant’s answers, sources, limits and responses to difficult or potentially unsafe questions.
A public beta is planned for November. A beta is a testing version that allows a wider group of people to use the assistant and identify problems or gaps before its full public launch.
The project’s name has not yet been confirmed. The suggestions received from our members and community will help inform that decision.
We will share further information as the testing and review work progresses.