AI is no longer a distant promise. It’s already reshaping the way we detect disease, personalise treatment, and accelerate medical research. Yet for healthcare leaders, the real question isn’t whether AI has potential. It’s how to turn that potential into better outcomes for patients, clinicians, and systems under constant pressure.

The Transformation Group and Intelligen recently hosted an expert panel on AI in Cancer Research, where speakers explored a future where AI addresses healthcare's most pressing issues.

Empowering the Patient Journey

One of the most compelling visions of AI's future is a truly patient-centric healthcare system. Moving us all from being a "passenger" to a "participant" within our own care.

Imagine a system where health data follows each patient seamlessly. No more repeating medical histories, no more fragmented records. AI could help people navigate the complexity of healthcare, flag risks before they escalate, and match patients to the right treatment or clinical trial at the right time. Eliminating the human burden of repeating your story multiple times and offering a holistic view of your health.

Moving this forward, patients become partners in clinical research, understanding their health data and eligibility for clinical trials through AI-powered insights. This directly addresses the current low participation rates in oncology trials, where 93% of patients wish to be offered a trial, but only about 5.5% in New South Wales actually participate. For leaders and business, this means faster innovation and better R&D outcomes.

Precision Medicine and Personalised Treatment

Our experts described a future where AI helps clinicians pinpoint exactly what drives a disease and immediately recommend the most effective treatment, eliminating months of trial-and-error therapies.

The opportunity here is profound:

• For patients – quicker recovery, less invasive monitoring, fewer side effects, and a greater sense of control.
• For healthcare systems – reduced waste, optimised use of resources, and the ability to deliver higher-quality care at scale.
• For leaders – the chance to reframe the cost conversation. Instead of settling for the “cheapest available” drug, AI makes it possible to track real-world effectiveness and invest in what actually works.

This shift from cost-first to outcomes-first is a strategic decision. The organisations that get it right will not only improve lives but also build more resilient and sustainable models of care.

Augmented Intelligence: The Co-Pilot for Care

The panel made a critical distinction: AI should not be seen as a replacement for human expertise, but as augmented intelligence, a co-pilot for patients and clinicians alike.

Think of autopilot in aviation: the pilot stays in control, but the system helps them navigate complexity and spot risks sooner. In the same way, AI can help doctors see patterns invisible to the human eye, streamline administrative processes, and give patients clearer pathways through their care journey.

For leaders, the lesson is clear: technology adoption must always come with human oversight, governance, and empathy. Done well, augmented intelligence builds confidence, not fear, and ensures that people, not machines, remain at the centre of healthcare.

The discussion at our panel underscored a simple truth: the future of AI in healthcare isn’t about replacing people with machines.

Thanks to our panel for sharing their thoughts:

• Mark Cowley – Deputy Director, Children’s Cancer Institute & Associate Professor, UNSW Medicine
• Bill Petch – Chief Executive Officer, Crohn’s Colitis Cure
• Lloyd Prescott – Chief Executive Officer, Southern Star Research
• Dr. Yagiz Alp Aksoy –Clinical Fellow, Biomedical AI Centre, Centenary Institute & Doctor at the Royal North Shore Hospital
• Erin Evans, CEO of Intelligen