John Hirdes

Dr. John Hirdes
Professor, School of Public Health Sciences
> WatSPEED

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming health care, offering both promising benefits and significant risks. Dr. John Hirdes, a leading expert in Canada on health care delivery, highlights the dual-edged nature of AI's integration into health care. 

Hirdes emphasizes the potential for AI to improve efficiencies across the health-care system. “Every part of the health system is going to be affected,” he says. “From the way doctors practise to how policymakers make decisions, AI is poised to change how we interact with health care.”

Hirdes acknowledges, however, that the widespread implementation of AI must be done thoughtfully, without compromising the quality of patient care.

One initiative addressing this challenge is the University of Waterloo’s professional education wing, WatSPEED, which provides upskilling to keep pace with technological, economic and social disruption. Hirdes is the program director for WatSPEED’s Leveraging AI to Improve Health Care in Canada program, designed to prepare health-care professionals, policymakers and administrators to integrate AI in ways that enhance patient outcomes without losing sight of what matters most: the patient experience.

Hirdes highlights that although AI tools can improve efficiencies, streamline data collection and predict health outcomes, they should never replace the empathy and personal attention that health-care providers offer.

Hirdes warns against relying on technology for tasks that require a human touch.

“Would you want to go home today and have a robot feed you your dinner? I don’t think so. So why should we impose that on an elderly patient?” Hirdes asks.  

“One of the most important resources we will have in the future is trust. We need to know which AI systems we can trust, and which require careful examination.”

Hirdes’ approach to AI reflects a broader conversation happening at Waterloo, where experts from various fields, including health, engineering and research ethics, collaborate to ensure AI developments align with human values.

As AI continues to evolve, Hirdes and his colleagues at Waterloo are committed to ensuring that human-centred care remains a fundamental pillar of health innovation.