Cory Kidd, PhD, has spent two decades working at the intersection of healthcare and technology. Today, Dr. Kidd is CEO and Founder of Catalia Health, a company launching Mabu, a tablet built into a sculpted, stylized body that's designed to serve as a personal healthcare companion for patients at home. It reminds patients to take medications, asks how they are feeling, and contacts their caregiver if necessary. Catalia conducted a series of studies over two years using six different types of robots. One clinical trial involved 45 patients using the robot in their homes for two months.

ORLANDO – From Watson to Siri, Alexa to Cortana, consumers and patients have become much more familiar with artificial intelligence and natural language processing in recent years. Pick your terminology: machine learning, cognitive computing, neural networks/deep learning. All are becoming more commonplace – in our smartphones, in our kitchens – and as they continue to evolve at a rapid pace, expectations are high for how they'll impact healthcare. As it sparks equal part doubt and hope (and not a little hype) from patients, physicians and technologists, a panel of IT experts at HIMSS17 discussed the future of AI in healthcare on Sunday afternoon. Kenneth Kleinberg, managing director at The Advisory Board Company, spoke with execs from two medical AI startups: Cory Kidd, CEO of Catalia Health, and Jay Parkinson, MD, founder and CMO of Sherpaa.