Google's Ruth Porat Discusses AI's Role in Expanding Healthcare Access

Alphabet President and Chief Investment Officer Ruth Porat discussed AI's potential to expand access to health care at Fortune's 2026 Most Powerful Women Summit. Much of Porat's conversation focused on Google's $200 billion AI buildout. Porat closed the conversation by discussing cancer survival and Google's health research.

Porat survived breast cancer after diagnoses in 2001 and 2004, while Porat worked at Morgan Stanley. Porat said her first appearance at Fortune's Most Powerful Women Summit came just after her second experience with cancer. Porat expressed sympathy for people undergoing cancer treatment and said uncertainty is frightening.

Porat finds uneven survival rates for treatable cancers in America distressing. The American Cancer Society says Black women are about 38% more likely to die of breast cancer than white women. However, the American Cancer Society says Black women are slightly less likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer than white women. Porat said survival rates can vary between ZIP codes.

Porat said she asked her oncologist about the significance of Google's health research after joining Google. According to Porat, the oncologist said AI is the only way to make health care accessible to everyone. According to Porat, the oncologist said AI can give doctors everywhere insights for early detection and treatment decisions. Porat highlighted Google's work on early detection of breast and lung cancer. Porat said early detection provides time that can substantially affect survival rates. A 2020 study found that Google's AI model reads mammograms more accurately than radiologists. The study found that the model reduced false negatives by 9.4 percentage points in the U.S. The study found that the model reduced false negatives by 2.7 percentage points in the U.K.

Porat also highlighted a diabetic retinopathy screening effort in the Global South. Diabetic retinopathy is a diabetes complication that can cause blindness without early detection. Porat said Google and local partners have completed about 1 million scans so far, with a goal of more than 6 million. Porat acknowledged anxiety about AI's impact on the world but believes the benefits outweigh the challenges. Porat called for every available effort to address governance around financial risk, model risk and buildout risk because AI's potential benefits are enormous.

Centene CEO Sarah London also spoke yesterday at Fortune's Most Powerful Women Summit. London said the latest health care innovations typically reach people with the most money rather than the sickest patients. London, who leads the $33 billion health care company, said AI offers a major opportunity to change how people seek and receive medical care.