Governments are increasingly relying on data-intensive systems, both to wage wars and to administer public services. These systems, increasingly provided by the same firms using similar tools, will come to affect our day-to-day lives whether we are in war zones or town squares. This is the era of Militarisation of Tech. The technologies that our governments rely on to deliver services and pursue their objectives are becoming increasingly data-intensive and militarised, which threatens our privacy, dignity, and autonomy.
Regulatory frameworks such as HIPAA, GxP, GDPR and 21 CFR Part 11 are not optional; they are the guardrails that protect sensitive health data, ensure scientific integrity and maintain public trust in healthcare systems. Yet, I repeatedly observed that while these frameworks provided critical safeguards, they often slowed the momentum of digital transformation initiatives, particularly those involving artificial intelligence. Early AI projects faltered not because the models lacked accuracy or relevance, but because the underlying data architectures were not designed to satisfy regulators from the outset.
ODSC AI West 2025 brings together the leading voices, tools, and ideas shaping the future of data science and AI. This year's program features a diverse lineup of sessions that go beyond theory to deliver practical, hands-on strategies for tackling today's most pressing challenges - from building production-ready generative AI systems and deploying resilient agentic workflows to advancing data governance, computer vision, and Bayesian modeling. Whether you're a data scientist, engineer, researcher, or business leader, you'll find sessions designed to give you the skills,
Over the course of several years designing and delivering enterprise data platforms for a global pharmaceutical leader, I witnessed firsthand how data had evolved from a backend enabler to a frontline business asset. The organization was no longer just looking to report historical performance; it needed to predict outcomes, personalize patient engagement, customer engagement, brand performance and make regulatory decisions in near real time.
More than three million Californians are expected to lose health coverage in the next several years due to federal Medicaid cuts. At the same time, over half of Californians say they have skipped or delayed care because of rising costs -with nearly half in that group saying their health got worse as a result. As leaders of health organizations serving Alameda County, Santa Cruz and the Central Coast, we can say unequivocally that these are the two greatest health challenges we've faced since the pandemic:
The leap from chatbot to AI agent is not just about adding automation - it's about architectural transformation, embedding reasoning and action in context.
