AI Gets Hired, FDA Goes All-In, and Google’s AI Sees Your X-Rays: This Week in AI Beat

Inside: From finance to healthcare to high school classrooms—AI is transforming the way we work, live, and lead.

👋 Editor's Note

As AI continues to evolve from buzzword to backbone of modern industry, this week’s AI Beat captures the fast-moving developments reshaping business and society. From Elon Musk’s xAI making waves in finance to the FDA rolling out AI agency-wide, and Google’s AMIE AI agent outdiagnosing doctors in early tests—there’s no slowing down. We’re also seeing urgent calls for AI education in schools, new challenges in digital health compliance, and creative debates over AI’s emotional IQ. Dive in for key insights, upcoming events, and the tools driving innovation.

Have something to share with the global AAIA community? Send your news, tools, or events to [email protected].

🗓️ Upcoming events:

AAIA Global Online Event Series

  • The Intelligent Finance Trinity:  How AI is Uniting CFOs, Product Leaders, and Revenue Teams

  • 🗓️ Tuesday, May 13, 2025, 8:30AM - 9:30AM PST | Online

  • 🔗 Register

Seattle AAIA Chapter

  • Manufacturing Reimagined: AI-Powered Innovation

  • 🗓️ Tuesday, May 20, 2025, 3:30PM - 5:30PM PST | In-person

  • 🔗 Register

Portland/SW Washington AAIA Chapter

  • Innovation Stations

  • Thursday, June 5, 2025, 6:00PM - 8:30PM PST | In-person

  • 🔗 Register

Snowflake Dev Day

STACKxDays, the premier event for senior developers, presented by the VR/AR Association and the Applied AI Association

Recent event recordings:

AAIA’s BrightTALK page to watch on-demand recordings of previous online events

AAIA’s YouTube page

View the complete AAIA Events calendar

📢 AAIA chapter and member news and updates:

🧑‍💼✍️ AAAI Founder’s Corner:  This week’s posts from AAIA Founder and President Nathan Pettyjohn

📰 In the News:

Elon Musk’s xAI has teamed up with Palantir Technologies and TWG Global to promote AI adoption in the financial sector, integrating xAI’s Grok language models and supercomputing power into business operations. This partnership aims to meet rising demand for advanced AI solutions in finance and builds on previous collaborations, as industry investment in AI continues to grow.

The FDA announced it will immediately deploy AI across all its divisions to streamline internal processes and reduce repetitive tasks, aiming for full integration by June 30, 2025. This follows a successful pilot, and the agency plans further enhancements while ensuring security and compliance, with more updates expected in June.

Microsoft’s blog, “The AI-powered future of health,” highlights how AI is revolutionizing healthcare by boosting scientific discovery, clinician productivity, and patient outcomes. It shares insights from Microsoft leaders, real-world examples, and guidance for responsible AI adoption, emphasizing the company’s commitment to advancing healthcare innovation.

AI is transforming digital health but raises HIPAA compliance challenges, especially around protecting patient data, limiting AI access, and preventing re-identification. Privacy Officers must ensure strong vendor agreements, address risks from advanced AI models, conduct AI-specific risk assessments, and stay updated on regulations to maintain privacy and compliance as AI use in healthcare grows.

Google Research is leveraging AI to accelerate scientific discovery across multiple fields by developing advanced tools and systems that amplify human ingenuity and enable faster, broader real-world impact. Key initiatives include AI-driven breakthroughs in biomedical science-such as the AI co-scientist, which helps scientists generate novel hypotheses and research proposals, and multimodal diagnostic agents like AMIE-as well as innovations in genomics, geospatial science for climate and disaster response, and quantum computing with the new Willow chip. These efforts, conducted in close collaboration with the global scientific community, aim to democratize research, personalize medicine, and tackle complex challenges from disease treatment to climate resilience and clean energy.

Over 250 CEOs, including those from Microsoft and Salesforce, have signed an open letter urging U.S. policymakers to require AI and computer science education in high schools, arguing it’s essential for closing skills gaps, boosting the economy, and keeping the U.S. globally competitive as technology rapidly evolves.

📰 Duolingo will replace contract workers with AI (The Verge, April 28, 2025)

Duolingo announced it will adopt an "AI-first" strategy by gradually phasing out contract workers for tasks that artificial intelligence can handle, aiming to accelerate content creation and innovation while enabling employees to focus on creative and complex work rather than repetitive tasks, though the company insists this shift is about removing bottlenecks rather than replacing its core workforce.

Duolingo announced it will adopt an "AI-first" strategy by gradually phasing out contract workers for tasks that artificial intelligence can handle, aiming to accelerate content creation and innovation while enabling employees to focus on creative and complex work rather than repetitive tasks, though the company insists this shift is about removing bottlenecks rather than replacing its core workforce.

A SELF journalist tested ChatGPT’s advice on common social dilemmas and had therapists evaluate its responses. While ChatGPT provided polite and logical scripts for everyday situations, therapists found its advice generic and lacking emotional depth. They concluded that ChatGPT is helpful for basic communication tips but can’t replace personalized support from a real therapist.

🛠️ 📘 Tools and Reports Spotlight

📘 AMIE gains vision: A research AI agent for multimodal diagnostic dialogue (Google Blog, May 1, 2025)

Google’s updated AMIE AI agent can now interpret and reason about medical images and test results during diagnostic conversations, using the Gemini 2.0 Flash model. In tests with simulated patients, AMIE matched or outperformed primary care doctors in accuracy, image interpretation, and empathy, suggesting strong potential for telemedicine and clinical support, though more real-world testing is needed.

If you have an event, newsworthy story, industry insight/report, or AI tool to share with AAIA members, please email the details to [email protected].

Our list of AAIA Chapters is continually expanding—if you live in a Chapter city or region and want to get involved, please email that city/region’s Chapter President.

Become an AAIA member and join the leading global industry association dedicated to integrating AI technologies into business. Accelerate knowledge exchange, collaboration, and innovation through our worldwide network of chapters, specialized industry committees, and in-depth reports. Connect with thought leaders and innovators to help shape the future of AI in business. Visit our website to learn more about membership opportunities.

Questions?  Email us at [email protected].

Until next time!