AI could help prepare for the next pandemic, say researchers

AI could help to prepare for the next global pandemic and save lives, according to global researchers.

The study, published in Nature on 20 February 2025, was carried out in partnership between scientists from Imperial College London and academic, industry and policy organisations across Africa, America, Asia, Australia and Europe.

It outlines how advances in AI can accelerate breakthroughs in infectious disease research and outbreak response, with an emphasis on safety, accountability and ethics.

Professor Moritz Kraemer, lead study author from the University of Oxford’s Pandemic Sciences Institute, said: “In the next five years, AI has the potential to transform pandemic preparedness.

“It will help us better anticipate where outbreaks will start and predict their trajectory, using terabytes of routinely collected climatic and socio-economic data.

“It might also help predict the impact of disease outbreaks on individual patients by studying the interactions between the immune system and emerging pathogens.

“Taken together and if integrated into countries’ pandemic response systems, these advances will have the potential to save lives and ensure the world is better prepared for future pandemic threats.”

The study finds that recent advances in AI methodologies are performing increasingly well even with limited data.

Its authors suggest rigorous benchmarks to evaluate AI models, advocating for strong collaborations between government, society, industry and academia for sustainable and practical development of models for improving human health.

Professor Eric Topol, study author and founding director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, said: “While AI has remarkable transformative potential for pandemic mitigation, it is dependent upon extensive worldwide collaboration and from comprehensive, continuous surveillance data inputs.”

Professor Samir Bhatt, lead study author from Imperial College London and the University of Copenhagen, said: “Infectious disease outbreaks remain a constant threat, but AI offers policymakers a powerful new set of tools to guide informed decisions on when and how to intervene.”

Medical applications of AI have predominantly focused on individual patient care, for example enhancing clinical diagnostics, precision medicine, or supporting clinical treatment decisions.

Meanwhile, in an exclusive interview Helen Thomas, chief executive officer of Digital Health and Care Wales, told Digital Health News that IT systems in Wales are not prepared to meet the next pandemic.