In August we were thrilled to announce a £250 million investment in Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications for health and care through the creation of the NHS AI Lab. We hope that over time this investment will enable health and care providers to benefit from the very best data-driven technology and help us achieve our goals for technology use in the NHS and in the care system. However, we also believe that people have the right to know why we think this is a worthwhile investment and how we think AI might help us achieve these goals. "Artificial Intelligence: How to get it right. The report is intended to provide a cohesive overview of the current state of play of data-driven technologies within the health and care system.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced £250 million in funding to establish an NHS artificial intelligence lab – marking his third funding pledge to the health service in as many days. NHS England will receive the multi-million-pound funding, which Johnson says could help revolutionise patient care and medical research. Health Secretary Matt Hancock praised the potential of deploying AI in the NHS, saying it had "enormous power" to enhance care, save lives and to allow doctors to spend more time with patients. Due to the NHS' less than stellar record with technology, health experts have warned that any new system will require "robust evaluation" to avoid it having a negative impact on the healthcare system. If implemented without high safety standards and training, they say it could cause more harm than good.