Experimentation will be followed by ‘jumping the wave’ according to DoHAC first assistant secretary Fay Flevaras.
It will take around two years to see practical uses for generative AI in aged care, according to DoHAC’s first assistant secretary of digital transformation and delivery Fay Flevaras.
Speaking recently at Salesforce World Tour Sydney 2024, Ms Flevaras told attendees that the department was looking to explore various applications for generative AI across the aged care sector, with implementation anticipated within the next year to two years.
“In aged care, we’re pretty focused on the agenda we’ve got,” Ms Flevaras said.
“[Previously] we didn’t really have a huge amount of headspace to be going what does [generative AI] mean for us, but it’s definitely on the agenda so that we can say how does it fit in and where could we use it and should we use it?
“It’ll take us a good 12 to 24 months to start evolving to making practical uses.”
Ms Flevaras said while experimentation was crucial to drive the “evolution” of generative AI, the department would focus on smaller-scale implementation first to ensure the right privacy and safety protections were in place, according to DigiNation.
“You really need to find the think-big, start-small with the experimentation [and] start to find those strategies and the principles and the guardrails that you want to make sure are front of mind as you’re experimenting,” she said.
“Then you can jump the wave and leapfrog to something new and more innovative.”
