Scary fact: fertility rates across the West have plummeted to alarmingly low levels, marking a significant demographic shift. Most Western countries now have a Total Fertility Rate (TFR) well below the 'replacement level' of approximately 2.1 children per woman—the rate needed to maintain a population size without migration. For instance, the European Union's TFR hit a historical low of just 1.38 live births per woman in 2023, with countries like Spain and Italy seeing rates as low as 1.12 and 1.2 respectively. This downward trend is a major societal change, driven by the rising cost of living, delayed parenthood, and economic uncertainty.

The long-term impact of these plummeting rates presents profound challenges for Western societies. The most immediate concern is a rapidly ageing population and a resulting shrinking workforce. This demographic imbalance places immense strain on public finances, as fewer working-age people are left to fund the increasing costs of pensions and healthcare for a growing number of elderly citizens. A smaller, older population can also lead to slower economic growth due to labour shortages, forcing Western nations to fundamentally reorganise their societies and policy approaches.

With Kirsten Karchmer, CEO of Conceivable

For professional and life coaching for health execs, see https://coolcoaching.co.uk/

The Medical AI Podcast is the world's number one podcast on medical AI on Spotify and Apple Podcasts (according to Podseo, FeedSpot and Millionpodcasts).

For other related podcasts see

⁠https://podcast.feedspot.com/uk_ai_podcasts/⁠

https://www.millionpodcasts.com/digital-health-podcasts/

Could AI help you be a sexual superhero? (And reduce your cardiovascular risk) Use the coupon code: FELIX15 for a 15% discount when they make a purchase through our website. You can log in to your affiliate account and check all assigned coupons on Dashboard here: https://af.uppromote.com/myfirmtech/login

Erectile dysfunction may not be life-threatening but it is no doubt life-worsening. Does AI have a role in helping here?

And beyond simply treating dysfunction, can AI help gentlemen rise above the merely average … and help them perform like a rampant sexual superhero?

With Elliot Justin MD, CEO of Firm Tech.

Have you ever been dropped into the divine realm, the ultimate substrate of all reality? Have you ever given birth to yourself infinite times? Or felt connected to the entire universe in a way which is spiritually life-changing? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, you've probably been on mind-altering drugs, or psychedelics, like LSD or psilocibin.Remarkably, there is growing evidence that psychedelics can be used to treat a range of psychological disorders,including depression, PTSD, and addiction.But what happens when the clinical use of psychedelics meets AI?

With Cedric Chenefront, Founder of Well Wired.

For professional and life coaching for healthtech execs, see https://coolcoaching.co.uk/

The Medical AI Podcast is the world's number one podcast on medical AI on Spotify and Apple Podcasts (according to Podseo, FeedSpot and Millionpodcasts).

For other related podcasts see

⁠https://podcast.feedspot.com/uk_ai_podcasts/⁠

https://www.millionpodcasts.com/digital-health-podcasts/

Brain-computer interfaces are for some, medical technology bordering on the miraculous. Elon Musk’s neuralink is, for example, promising to cure some cases of blindness and paralysis. It has even been suggested that brain-computer interfaces could help humans become "superhuman": theycould dramatically boost human cognition and even help people become telepathic. On the other hand, science fiction is full of dire warnings about the merging of brain and machine.

So where are we currently with brain-computer interfaces? What are the promises?

What are the risks? And how could brain-computer interfaces affect our sense of self?

Could they enhance it dramatically?

Or could they be a terrifying path to techno-dehumanisation.

With Dr Robyn Waller of Sussex University

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For professional and life coaching for health execs, see https://coolcoaching.co.uk/

The Medical AI Podcast is the world's number one podcast on medical AI on Apple Podcasts and Spotify (according to Podseo, FeedSpot

and Millionpodcasts).

For other related podcasts see

⁠https://podcast.feedspot.com/uk_ai_podcasts/⁠

https://www.millionpodcasts.com/digital-health-podcasts/

Let’s imagine a utopian future of medical AI. Implantsand wearables constantly monitor your health. AI systems process those health data in real time and recommend any treatments, combining those data with those from your genome. Recommended drugs, naturally, are more efficacious and cheaper than those from 2025. life expectancy will be 100 and old age will be longer, healthier and groovier than ever. BUT … Getting there is anotherthing …. and the problem may not be so much with the technology. Perhaps what is needed is a fundamental shake up of healthcare systems.

With Dave Trier of Modelop

The Medical AI Podcast is the number one podcast on Medical AI in the world, on both Apple Podcasts and Spotify, according to Podseo and FeedSpot (⁠https://podcast.feedspot.com/uk_ai_podcasts/⁠) andmillionpodcasts(https://www.millionpodcasts.com/digital-health-podcasts/)

For professional and life coaching check out https://coolcoaching.co.uk/

In Blade Runner Rick Deckard, meets Rachel. She is very beautiful and vulnerable, with a rich life narrative, andemotional depth. However, Rachel is a highly sophisticated, super-realistic android. But nonetheless he falls in love with her. How close are we to this vision of the future? Are there medical uses to companion robots? And are there hidden dangers? And what about you? - Could you fall in love with a robot? My guest is uniquely well-placed to explore these questions – because he is building the world's most advanced companion robots. Andrew Keegel, CEO ofRealbotix.

The Medical AI Podcast is the number one podcast on Medical AI in the world, on both Apple Podcasts and Spotify, according to Podseo and FeedSpot (⁠https://podcast.feedspot.com/uk_ai_podcasts/⁠) and millionpodcasts (https://www.millionpodcasts.com/digital-health-podcasts/)

For professional and life coaching check out https://coolcoaching.co.uk/

Under capitalism a company has to make money. But a big problem in medical AI is that few companies are. Most are burning up venture capital and profitability is very hard to achieve. A key reason is that it is extremely difficult to obtain government reimbursement for the use of medical AI products. But a small number of companies are making progress here. What can learned from them? And how would a shift in reimbursement change the sector?

Microscopic analysis of tissue slides, or pathology, is a vital diagnostic tool. It can determine disease type and stage and it remains the gold standard approach for diagnostics in cancer. But the process is labor-intensive and dependent on the skill of the pathologist. AI techniques could address those problem and are rapidly changing pathology analysis. Buthow exactly? What does the future look like? And how could pathology AI be used to deliver Precision Medicine – which aims to tailors medical treatment to the individual.

The Medical AI Podcast is the number one podcast on Medical AI in the world, on both Apple Podcasts and Spotify, according to Podseo.

The Medical AI Podcast is a top-rated podcast on FeedSpot: ⁠https://podcast.feedspot.com/uk_ai_podcasts/⁠

The Medical AI Podcast is also a top-rated podcast on millionpodcasts: https://www.millionpodcasts.com/digital-health-podcasts/

For professional and life coaching check out https://coolcoaching.co.uk/