Amsterdam AI celebrates ELSA status for AI for Health Equity Lab

Spearheaded by four founding partners of Amsterdam AI—Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (HvA), University of Amsterdam (UvA), Vrije Universiteit (VU), and Amsterdam UMC—the lab collaborates with diverse partners to advance knowledge for ensuring fair access to AI in healthcare.

Addressing the challenge of equal access to AI in healthcare, the ELSA Lab identifies and analyzes barriers and opportunities to ensure just access to AI. Tackling the underrepresentation of certain groups in AI data, the lab aims to promote equal opportunities by creating a digital health infrastructure and making AI solutions more widely applicable. Through a transdisciplinary platform and citizen participation, ELSA Lab builds an inclusive knowledge infrastructure and raises awareness among various stakeholders, aligning with Amsterdam AI's commitment to responsible and people-centered AI.

ELSA Lab strives for just access to health technologies, addressing barriers and ensuring inclusivity. Goals include generating operational knowledge, building a transdisciplinary platform for inclusivity, and establishing an ecosystem for stakeholder engagement and citizen participation. This aligns with Amsterdam AI's dedication to fair, just, safe, and trustworthy AI applications across various sectors, including healthcare.

Applying a broad approach to health inequalities, ELSA Lab integrates social, ecological, and technological perspectives. Techniques like agent-based modeling and co-creation are employed to gain insights into health inequalities and develop effective policy interventions and solutions, contributing to Amsterdam AI's pioneering research in responsible AI.

ELSA Lab collaborates with external stakeholders, including patient associations, the City of Amsterdam, GGD/GGZ, SGAN, the National Expertise Center Pharos, and healthcare organizations. This collaboration echoes Amsterdam AI's multidisciplinary approach in various fields, including healthcare, ensuring responsible AI development and implementation.

The ELSA Lab strives to create an AI for Health Equity communication platform, emphasizing fairness in AI-based approaches. The NL AIC Label recognizes the lab's efforts and signifies a significant milestone in Amsterdam's leadership in responsible AI development and application.

Further expanding the recognition within the Amsterdam AI network, the Centre of Expertise Applied AI at the Hogeschool van Amsterdam (HvA) has been awarded the ELSA Lab label. With this recognition, the expertise center will focus on responsible AI for the labor market, contributing to the broader spectrum of ethical and societal AI advancements within Amsterdam AI. More information (in Dutch).