An 'Intelligent' Digital Patient

This month sees an important event in the journey towards the goal of realising the Digital Patient.  The Second Consultation Meeting on 26 and 27 November 2012 in Barcelona will attempt to identify the scientific and technical challenges that need to be overcome for that realisation to occur.  Perhaps the most difficult challenge to overcome will be that of artificial intelligence where the Digital Patient computer program 'learns' and acquires 'experience' from previous simulations, enabling it to arrive at the correct prediction a lot sooner with less input information over the coming years from its creation.  Inductive reasoning is the basis for computer 'learning', and in the journal, Artificial Intelligence, Ontañón and coworkers, using a technique called mathematical proofs, show that a subtype of inductive reasoning called inductive concept learning (ICL) is a form of defeasible reasoning (i.e., reasoning that is open to revision and questioning - a key property in intellectual thought that is not present in algorithmic execution).  Although the tasks illustrated in this article are relatively simple, the mathematics that Ontañón and coworkers produce in making the execution of the tasks by the computer program appear intelligent and thoughtful, are impressively complicated.  It will be interesting to see how their work converges with the Digital Patient program over the coming years.