How an AI Scientist Turned Her Breast Cancer Diagnosis Into a Tool to Save Lives

When artificial intelligence researcher Regina Barzilay was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2014, she says she was struck by immediate questions: "Am I going to survive? What's going to happen to my son?" But soon, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology scientist began asking a broader one: Why couldn't her cancer have been diagnosed earlier? Barzilay's quest to find an answer would lead to a remarkable result: the development of an AI-based system for early detection of breast cancer, with the ability to predict whether a patient is likely to develop the disease in the next five years. A technology that had not yet penetrated the hospital setting now has the potential to save many thousands of lives each year.