I recently watched a Bloomberg event, which I’ll summarize here, focusing on its implications for Family Offices. The Artificial Intelligence (AI) space is complex and more sophisticated than anything we’ve seen before.
As we’ve reported, $100 billion is invested annually in AI, primarily by the largest companies in the U.S. There’s no sign that this trend will slow down, and new investors are now entering the market.
Having worked in the tech industry during the rise of the internet—especially in healthcare and public companies—it feels as though we’re in a similar phase of AI’s commercialization as we were in 1996 with the internet.
For many years, Family Offices have stayed on the sidelines. I’ve spoken to them, and some still hesitate, drawing parallels to two key historical events: the Dot-Com Bubble and the Crypto Bubble.
The “Dot-Com Bust” is particularly memorable for those who lived through it. But, as many now know, it was just a temporary setback before the internet transformed the world. I’ve seen this firsthand. I can write a book about forcing professionals to adopt email—or risk losing our attorneys and accountants. We were fully committed. We went from AOL accounts to the fastest internet connections available at the time, even using frame-relay networks when necessary (something few remember today).
Then, there’s the issue of cryptocurrencies. Looking back, the performance of Bitcoin may seem foolishly speculative in hindsight.
But the biggest difference is that AI is not just a passing trend. It’s a tool for everyone—across all businesses and industries—and at its core, AI is about increasing productivity, revenues, and profits. It will make businesses more efficient. Unlike the internet, which required out-of-the-box thinking, AI’s benefits are clearer.
Anyone who doesn’t think AI will shape the future should stop reading right now. The internet to AI is akin to electricity powering electronics, enabling the creation of microprocessors. While you can still ignore cryptocurrencies, you can’t ignore the internet—or AI.
The real questions are: Will AI enhance your work? Will it replace it? Or will you capitalize on it?
The AI Agents Opportunity
In past blogs, we’ve explored the differences between Large Language Models (LLMs), Small Language Models (SLMs), and Independent Language Models (ILMs) (links below). In this post, we’ll focus on AI Agents: What are they and how are they being used?
Some investors are now targeting the AI Agents segment, which has a low barrier to entry but comes with significant risks, including potential cannibalization. Feeding the system that could eventually replace you is what some term “poisoning the well.” This is why I believe specialized SLMs in healthcare are where the real opportunities lie.
What Are AI Agents?
Here’s my short answer: AI Agents are generally built on LLMs, which serve as their “brains.” These autonomous systems are designed to perform tasks independently. While LLMs act as the cognitive function, AI Agents are the “body” that executes tasks. They can retrieve information from multiple sources, including sensors or speech, using Natural Language Processing (NLP).
AI Agents perceive their environment, make decisions, and take actions to achieve specific goals. They include technologies like chatbots, self-driving cars, and virtual assistants. Their capabilities include natural language understanding, decision-making, problem-solving, and learning. AI Agents have the potential to revolutionize personal assistance and complex industrial applications. However, the ethical implications and risks, especially in healthcare, must be considered.
In healthcare, AI Agents could eventually revolutionize patient care. While we’re not there yet, here’s what they might help with in the future:
- Diagnosis: Analyzing medical images, patient data, and research to assist doctors in identifying conditions and recommending tests.
- Treatment Planning: Developing personalized treatment plans based on medical history, genetics, and lifestyle.
- Drug Discovery: Accelerating drug development by analyzing large datasets to identify drug candidates and predict efficacy.
- Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM): Monitoring vital signs and identifying health risks, alerting healthcare providers to changes.
- Administrative Tasks: Automating scheduling, managing electronic health records, and processing insurance claims, freeing healthcare professionals to focus on patient care.
We continue to believe that AI Agents can play a key role in healthcare, but they cannot function in isolation. As we’ve discussed in previous blogs, licensed providers currently cannot assume the legal and reputational risks associated with AI. However, this will change over time. Meanwhile, SLMs and AI Agents can aggregate and enhance the consumer experience, empowering individuals to take control of their data and health.
On Family Offices and AI
As highlighted in a Bloomberg YouTube presentation titled “Family Offices Betting on AI” (from Asia), Family Offices in Asia are now heavily investing in AI.
The panel emphasized two main points:
- Foundational AI Elements: These include data infrastructure companies and hardware companies developing advanced chips. While companies in the U.S. are primarily investing in AI applications, these Asian investors see long-term value in the foundational elements of AI. However, the returns on such investments are often more stable but lower compared to application-based companies.
- AI Applications with Real-World Use Cases: Investors are also focused on AI applications with clear, monetizable value, such as manufacturing (e.g., AI for quality control and testing) and healthcare (e.g., AI-assisted diagnosis and drug discovery).
Family Offices can navigate the complexities of AI by focusing on these key areas, identifying opportunities for significant returns.
In the world’s largest healthcare market, AI is poised to help consumers take control from an industry that has become increasingly dysfunctional, expensive, and impersonal. The industry often treats consumers as data points, generating recurring revenue of about $15,000 per year. This model needs to change, and AI is the most powerful tool to drive that transformation.
- AI in Healthcare: Understanding and Using It Effectively
- Bloomberg: Family Offices Betting on AI
- AWS: What Is AI Agents?
About HealthScoreAI ™
Healthcare is at a tipping point, and HealthScoreAI is positioning to revolutionize the industry by giving consumers control over their health data and unlocking its immense value. U.S. healthcare annual spending has exceeded $5 trillion with little improvement in outcomes. Despite advances, technology has failed to reduce costs or improve care. Meanwhile, 3,000 exabytes of consumer health data remain trapped in fragmented USA systems, leaving consumers and doctors without a complete picture of care.
HealthScoreAI seeks to provide a unique solution, acting as a data surrogate for consumers and offering an unbiased holistic view of their health. By monetizing de-identified data, HealthScoreAI seeks to share revenue with consumers, potentially creating a new $100 billion market opportunity. With near-universal EHR adoption in the USA, and advances in technology, now is the perfect time to capitalize on the data available, practical use of AI and the empowering of consumers, in particular the 13,000 tech savvy baby boomers turning 65 every single day and entering the Medicare system for the first time. Our team, with deep healthcare and tech expertise, holds U.S. patents and a proven track record of scaling companies and leading them to IPO.
Noel J. Guillama-Alvarez
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nguillama/
+1-561-904-9477, Ext 355