Reggie Townsend: Why healthcare must keep the human touch in AI adoption

At the inaugural WHX Tech 2025 in Dubai, the intersection of healthcare and technology took center stage — from AI-driven hospitals to space-based medicine. Among the standout voices was Reggie Townsend, Vice President of the Data Ethics Practice at SAS, who addressed one of the most pressing issues in digital health: how to preserve human connection in the age of AI.

“AI is wonderful. I’m an AI enthusiast,” Townsend said, while stressing that efficiency gains should not come at the expense of empathy. “As we are moving more into seeing AI as an assistive technology in the healthcare space, I just think it’s really important that we don’t get seduced by its ability to make that space more efficient… but rather to use it in ways that help us preserve that human-to-human engagement.”

In this interview, Townsend explores the ethical challenges of deploying AI in patient care, the frameworks needed to build trustworthy adoption, and the role Middle East healthcare leaders can play in setting global standards for responsible, human-centered AI.