WHO Designates TU Delft as Key Player in AI Health Governance
Delft, Friday, 7 March 2025.
TU Delft’s Digital Ethics Centre becomes a WHO Collaborating Centre for AI in healthcare, spotlighting the Netherlands’ leadership in ethical AI development. This designation promises to enhance AI governance in global health systems.
Landmark Designation and Scope
The World Health Organization officially designated TU Delft’s Digital Ethics Centre (DDEC) as a collaborating centre for AI Healthcare Governance on March 6, 2025 [1]. This milestone appointment positions the centre to advise WHO on ethical aspects, laws, and regulations surrounding artificial intelligence in healthcare [2]. The collaboration builds upon years of partnership between DDEC and WHO in developing frameworks for responsible AI implementation in healthcare settings [2].
Practical Applications and Impact
The centre’s work is already demonstrating tangible benefits in healthcare settings. In collaboration with Erasmus Medical Centre and software company SAS, the AI for Health ethics lab (REAiHL) is conducting pilot projects to test ethical AI implementation [2]. One notable success includes an AI system at Erasmus MC that helps determine safe patient discharge times after oncological surgery, resulting in patients being discharged four days earlier on average while halving readmission rates [2].
Expert Leadership and Future Directions
Dr. Michel van Genderen, an internist-intensivist and associate professor at Erasmus Medical Centre in Rotterdam, emphasizes that ‘AI can only improve healthcare if we have a good ethical foundation. We need to get that basis right’ [1][4]. The centre’s immediate action plan includes a two-day intensive workshop on March 6-7, 2025, bringing together 20 experts to examine specific implementation cases [2]. Working alongside WHO specialists, including Alain Labrique and David Novillo Ortiz, the centre aims to translate theoretical frameworks into practical guidelines for healthcare institutions [4].