AI4Health Centres public engagement at the Great Exhibition Road Festival, exploring how AI can empower healthcare

Earlier this month, the AI4Health Centres were pleased to participate in the Great Exhibition Road Festival (GERF) 2025, an annual celebration of science, technology, and the arts, held in South Kensington.

One of the highlights of the weekend was the broad age range of participants, from curious five-year-olds asking how robots learn, to 87-year-olds sharing their experiences with healthcare technologies over the decades. This cross-generational engagement underscored the public’s widespread interest in how emerging technologies will impact future medical care.

Conversations throughout the weekend covered topics such as the ethical implications of AI in diagnostics, the importance of model robustness in clinical environments, and the role of AI as a tool to support clinicians.

The AI4Health exhibit focused on a key question:

“What superpowers can we give doctors and nurses with AI?”

Members of the public offered a range of creative and thoughtful responses, including:

• Earlier diagnosis of disease - reflecting strong public interest in AI's potential to detect health issues before symptoms arise,
• Less paperwork - a frequently cited, practical aspiration aligned with real-world healthcare needs, and
• AI that’s easy to use - reinforcing the importance of user-friendly, human-centred design.

Visitors explored interactive demonstrations, research posters, and games that introduced them to the Centres' work. Whether they drew a robot which could help people get better or they thought about how smart computers should be incorporated into hospitals, many expressed surprise at the breadth of skills and responsibilities held by AI4Health researchers - from algorithm development and data analysis to ethical frameworks and clinical safety - illustrating our inherently multidisciplinary approach. "I didn't realise AI in healthcare was this complex- there's so much more to it than just coding!" said one visitor, clearly impressed by the diversity of roles in our centres.

Over two packed days, the Centres' researchers engaged with approximately 400 members of the public, contributing an estimated 30 hours of spoken conversation around the transformative potential of artificial intelligence in healthcare (to be precise, close to 1,800 minutes). Each interaction, averaging five minutes, provided a window into how AI is already influencing medical research and clinical practice, as well as future opportunities and challenges.

“It was inspiring to see such a diverse and engaged audience exploring how AI can shape the future of healthcare. From schoolchildren to retirees, the curiosity and thoughtful questions we received really highlight the importance of involving the public in these conversations.” (Professor Aldo Faisal, Director of the UKRI Centres in AI for Healthcare)

The success of the weekend was made possible by the dedicated team of AI4Health PhD researchers, who volunteered their time to represent the Centres, communicate their work, and foster dialogue with the public. Their enthusiasm and expertise were key to making AI research accessible, engaging, and relevant to a broad audience.

This event was supported by UK Research and Innovation.

UKRI Centres for Doctoral Training in AI for Healthcare grant number EP/S023283/1

 UKRI AI Centre for Doctoral Training in Digital Healthcare grant number EP/Y030974/1