Withnail and AI
When placed in an artifcial reality, not totally dissimilar to the flm sets that have defned his career, Richard E. Grant’s ubiquitous pretence shuddered to a crunching halt, among a cast of mainly D grade ‘personalities’.
What was it about this contrived stage that burst the banks of his storied theatricality? Drama is Richard E. Grant’s territory. Staying within the wingspan-range of Richard E. Grant is what Richard E. Grant does. And, yet, amid a completely unchallenging environment of bozos he spontaneously exploded into an uncharacteristic display of ‘honesty’.
But what do we actually know about thespian Richard E. Grant, beyond him being a privately educated, hopelessly posh, aristocratic Englishman? Well, for a start, he’s not called Richard E. Grant, he did not attend Eton, he is not aristocratic and is not from England. But let’s not get bogged down in details!
What has this got do with the modern clinical trials landscape, I hear you ask? Well, when it comes to clinical trials it is important to get bogged down in details. Swathes of patient data, in volumes beyond our comprehension, are being generated, processed and regurgitated in a concentrated melting pot of super-charged enlightenment.
As AI emerges as a force within the currency and calculation clinical trials, its ability to establish the faithful data, while discarding (or in some cases including) amusing fights of fancy, such as blurting out that you’re ‘a traitor’, will be crucial in a bid to control the datasphere.
And, in a game where the rules are always changing, control may be all we have left. Losing it doesn’t bear thinking about. Just ask Richard.
John Pinching
editor
