This week on Pulse: Hot Topics, Louise and George ask

Can AI cure cancer before smoking kills you? Should we worry if NVIDIA's CEO thinks basic maths no longer matters? Louise and George introduce a new segment exploring the extraordinary things tech leaders say - and the consequences of believing the hype.

In this week's Hot Topics, they examine Australia's TGA review of AI scribes and the UK's ambitious plans to regulate healthcare AI throughout its lifecycle. They explore fascinating research allowing people with epilepsy to converse with their own brain-monitoring data, and revisit the controversy surrounding Palantir and the NHS Federated Data Platform.

Plus, a FemTech roundup covering Google Health and Flo, new approaches to breast cancer detection, and a rather unconventional device being marketed for menopause symptoms.

Resources

TGA finds 8 of 12 scribes likely medical devices Pulse+IT

Govt backs recommendations of NHS doctors-led AI Commission Link

Human–artificial intelligence collaboration for comanaging epilepsy in real time. Nature Medicine

Feminai pilots at home breast exam kit with Midi Health Femtech Insider

Mammograms can miss cancer in dense tissue Inc

MenoPulse Boots UK

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Is artificial intelligence an existential threat to humanity? Or is the greater danger what humans choose to do with it?

In this special episode of Pulse, Louise and George are joined by Professor Enrico Coiera, Dr Guy Tsafnat, and Lucy Orr-Ewing of the Coalition for Health AI (CHAI) for a provocative discussion about AI safety, superintelligence and the future of healthcare.

From rogue AI and malicious actors to systemic failures and the growing power of technology giants, the panel explores what could go wrong - and whether we're building the safeguards needed to prevent it.

They debate whether regulation can keep pace with AI, whether human-in-the-loop oversight is becoming theatre, and what healthcare leaders should be doing now to ensure AI delivers benefits without compromising patient safety.

The central question: Will AI be our greatest threat, or will human decisions be our undoing?

Resources:

Don’t Walk. Run. AI in Healthcare – The 3rd National Policy Roadmap (Australian Alliance for AI in Healthcare)

CHAI AI Governance Playbooks

From principles to practice: an actionable framework for AI governance in healthcare organisations, BMJ

The Alignment Problem by Brian Christian

Follow our guests on LinkedIn: Enrico, Lucy, Guy

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This week on Pulse: Hot Topics, Louise and George ask who gets to deliver healthcare, as AI agents, a dating app, Apple and online platforms all push into territory that once belonged to clinicians and health services.

Agentic AI moves into healthcare — Heidi's new agents can now complete referrals, recalls and follow-ups across EHRs, inboxes and patient portals, joining Epic, Oracle and ARPA-H in a shift from AI that advises to AI that acts. George draws on James Reason's Swiss cheese model and Goodhart's Law to ask who is accountable when agents get it wrong.

Is Grindr becoming a front door to healthcare? — Grindr's US$250 million purchase of PrEP telehealth provider Freddie will bring HIV prevention, testing, prescriptions and medication delivery inside the app, a sign that healthcare is moving to where communities already gather.

Apple pushes further into healthcare — Apple's redesigned Health app adds a Health Age score, at-home movement assessments and, in the US, lab tests you can buy straight from the app. That raises questions about validation, equity, and who has the conversation when your watch says you're older than you are.

Telehealth grows up — France has given teleconsultation platforms until 1 October to stop charging patients to skip the queue. Meanwhile Australia is preparing its first national safety and quality standards for virtual care, along with rules requiring online prescribers to share medicines information to My Health Record by default.

Plus, Louise reviews Eliza at Melbourne Theatre Company, the story of Joseph Weizenbaum and the world's first chatbot, and pays tribute to her PhD supervisor, the late Professor Graham Pervan.

Resources

Heidi launches AI agents for clinical admin, Pulse+IT Link

Oracle outlines healthcare AI roadmap, Pulse+IT Link

Online prescribing Share by Default consultation Link

Recommendations:

Join the ACSQHC Webinars for the public consultation on the Draft National Safety and Quality Standards for Virtual Care (19, 21 and 23 October)

Go see Melbourne Theatre Company Eliza, showing until 31 October

Watch Silenced documentary

Aging Research and Drug Discovery Annual Meeting YouTube

Visit Pulse+IT.news to subscribe to breaking digital news, weekly newsletters and a rich treasure trove of archival material. People in the know, get their news from Pulse+IT – Your leading voice in digital health news.

Follow us on LinkedIn Louise | George | Pulse+IT

Follow us on BlueSky Louise | George | Pulse+IT

Send us your questions pulsepod@pulseit.news

Production by Octopod Productions | Ivan Juric