Bill Gates unveils OpenAI partnership targeting health systems

The Gates Foundation on Wednesday announced Horizon1000, a $50 million health project created in partnership with OpenAI to increase the utilization of artificial intelligence inside health care centers across Africa.

“Over the next few years, we will collaborate with leaders in African countries as they pioneer the deployment of AI in health,” Gates wrote in a Wednesday blog post outlining the venture. 

“Together, the Gates Foundation and OpenAI are committing $50 million in funding, technology, and technical support to back their work. The goal is to reach 1,000 primary healthcare clinics and their surrounding communities by 2028,” he added.

The project will kick off in Rwanda, where there’s one health care worker per 1,000 people, according to the Gates Foundation.

The African country is aiming to increase its number of health care workers with the Rwanda 4×4 Reform initiative, which aligns with the World Health Organization’s recommended number of four health care workers per 1,000.

Gates wrote that the “Minister of Health Dr. Sabin Nsanzimana recently announced the launch of an AI-powered Health Intelligence Center in Kigali to help ensure limited health care resources are being used as wisely as possible.”

“As part of the Horizon1000 initiative, we aim to accelerate the adoption of AI tools across primary care clinics, within communities, and in people’s homes. These AI tools will support health workers, not replace them,” he added.

The billionaire touted the venture on the global stage while speaking Wednesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

“AI is entering into the health system, but not just into the health system, it’s all the way down to the level of the patient. So, the patient is able to talk in their local language and describe what’s going on,” Gates told an audience.

“And so in order to, you know, make this a reality, to see what works, what doesn’t work, and we’re thrilled that OpenAI and the Gates Foundation are committing an initiative called Horizon1000, where we’re going to a thousand primary health care clinics in Africa, and you have, you know, different systems that we have to connect into,” he added.

Gates also said the project could soon expand to reach India.

“AI is going to be a scientific marvel no matter what, but for it to be a societal marvel, we’ve got to figure out ways that we use this incredible technology to improve people’s lives,” Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, said in a Tuesday statement.