Invitation to Register: AI for Health BCS London - 6 Nov 2026

Invitation to Register

AI for Health 2026
Friday 6 November 2026

British Computer Society London Office (near Moorgate Underground)

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) prioritising AI for health is crucial. The WHO also highlights that a healthy diet protects you against many chronic noncommunicable diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer. Quantum computing is gathering an enormous interest as a new paradigm of computing  (see Quantum for Good at https://quantumforgood.eu/), which is already making an impact across industries like health and life sciences (agriculture, food and health). Classical (or current) AI relies in classical computers based on binary bits (zeros and ones), while quantum AI relies in quantum computers based on quantum bits (qubits). Quantum AI could dramatically accelerate research that requires processing vast amounts of data, contributing to human health by accelerating drug discovery or enabling earlier diagnostics. Quantum AI could be also instrumental in identifying early signs of crop diseases or optimising water use.

AI for Health 2026 will have a morning session about AI for health, and an afternoon session about quantum technologies for health and food, including an introduction to quantum computing. Before lunch break, there will be a hands-on tutorial on low-code AI agents for health, farming, and food. Come along to AI for Health 2026 if you are interested in cutting-edge AI for Health, using latest technologies with a promise of high impact.

A full-day face-to-face event organised by the BCS SGAI with the following agenda:

09.30-10.00 Tea/coffee Welcome
10.00-10.45 Medical diagnosis after LLMs (keynote talk) by Prof Brendan Delaney (Imperial College London)
10.45-11.30 AI in Mental Healthcare by Mr Anirban Lahiri (Arndit Ltd. and Kainos Ltd., UK)
11.30-11.45 Tea/coffee Break
11.45-12.30 Demystifying AI regulation by Dr Marinos Ioannides (Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, UK)
12.30-13.15 Hand-on tutorial: Low-Code AI Agents for Health, Farming, and Food
13.15-14.15 Lunch Break
14.15-15.00 Introduction to Quantum Computing and its Relevance for Biomedical Science by Dr Oliver Thomson Brown (University of Edinburgh)
15.00-15.45 Translating Quantum Food Futures by Dr Saihong Li (University of Stirling)
15.45-16.30 Emerging Opportunities for Quantum Technologies in Food and Health by Dr Aleksey Kozikov (Newcastle University)
16.30-16.45 Close

Further details at https://www.bcs-sgai.org/health2026/

There will be Certificates of Attendance for those who register and attend the event.

Registration on Eventbrite (includes refreshment and lunch!)
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ai-for-health-2026-tickets-1990787464898

My source: Dr. Mercedes Arguello Casteleiro (BCS SGAI)

Paper: The spatiotemporal distribution of human pathogens in ancient Eurasia

 Abstract

Infectious diseases have had devastating effects on human populations throughout history, but important questions about their origins and past dynamics remain1. To create an archaeogenetic-based spatiotemporal map of human pathogens, we screened shotgun-sequencing data from 1,313 ancient humans covering 37,000 years of Eurasian history. We demonstrate the widespread presence of ancient bacterial, viral and parasite DNA, identifying 5,486 individual hits against 492 species from 136 genera. Among those hits, 3,384 involve known human pathogens2, many of which had not previously been identified in ancient human remains. Grouping the ancient microbial species according to their likely reservoir and type of transmission, we find that most groups are identified throughout the entire sampling period. Zoonotic pathogens are only detected from around 6,500 years ago, peaking roughly 5,000 years ago, coinciding with the widespread domestication of livestock3. Our findings provide direct evidence that this lifestyle change resulted in an increased infectious disease burden. They also indicate that the spread of these pathogens increased substantially during subsequent millennia, coinciding with the pastoralist migrations from the Eurasian Steppe4,5.

Sikora, M., Canteri, E., Fernandez-Guerra, A. et al. The spatiotemporal distribution of human pathogens in ancient Eurasia. Nature 643, 1011–1019 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09192-8

My source: Carl Zimmer. What has ailed us over time, The New York Times International Edition, July 30th 2025. p.12.

Book: "A Blue New Deal"

INDIVIDUAL

|

 INTERPERSONAL    :     SCIENCES               

HUMANISTIC --------------------------------------  MECHANISTIC      

SOCIOLOGY  :   POLITICAL 

|

GROUP

	A BLUE ... "A Blue New Deal"
	... NEW DEAL

Source: Book in the news. Money Week, 29 April 2022. Issue 1101, p.39.

ERCIM News No. 113 Special theme "Smart Farming"

Dear ERCIM News Reader,

ERCIM News No. 113 has just been published at https://ercim-news.ercim.eu/

The Special Theme "Smart Farming" was coordinated by the guest editors:

Mirco Boschetti (IREA-CNR) and Erwin Schoitsch (AIT)


The research & society section of this issue features the topic "Research Evaluation", edited in cooperation with Informatics Europe by the guest editors Hélène Kirchner (Inria) and Fabrizio Sebastiani (ISTI-CNR).

The section "Research and Innovation" reports on news about research activities and innovative developments from European research institutes.

This issue is also available for download in pdf and ePUB.


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Next issue:
No. 114  July 2018
 Special Theme: "Human-Robot Interaction" 

Peter Kunz            
ERCIM Office
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