Merger gives push to responsible AI

Amsterdam Vice Mayor for Economic Affairs Mr Sofyan Mbarki, Chair of the Amsterdam AI governing board Ms Geert ten Dam, and Executive Director of the Amsterdam Economic Board Ms Nina Tellegen, were present for the official ratification of this milestone. The press of a button started an AI-generated ‘rhyme’.

Sofyan Mbarki: “Amsterdam has a long history of developing groundbreaking innovative technologies. We believe that by joining the forces of Smart Health Amsterdam and Amsterdam AI, citizens and society as a whole will benefit significantly from the outcome of future, accountable and life-changing health solutions.”

Continue reading below the photos (or see more photos by Sanne Couprie)

In a recent interview, Geert ten Dam welcomed the merger. “AI is becoming increasingly important for improving healthcare and joining forces was the next logical step for Smart Health Amsterdam and Amsterdam AI. The developments within AI are rapid and we can only keep up with these together. Our strength is the integrated approach to achieve responsible AI, and that is what we practice in Amsterdam and within the Amsterdam AI coalition.” Read the full interview with Geert ten Dam.

Smart Health Amsterdam was initiated in 2019 by the City of Amsterdam and the Amsterdam Economic Board. “Since then, we have supported countless partnerships and events and have achieved great results in connecting academics and researchers with the business community. The network has grown to more than 1,400 active members. In our mission to initiate and grow social impact initiatives, now is a great time to organically merge Smart Health Amsterdam into the organisation of Amsterdam AI, and together build a strong regional ecosystem for Life Sciences & Health,” said Nina Tellegen, Executive Director of the Amsterdam Economic Board.

Amsterdam AI is a coalition of government, academic, medical and research organisations that aims to develop and deploy ethical AI. Healthcare is one of its three focus areas.

We look forward to this partnership and are excited to see what the future will bring!