Health Impacts of Data Centers and AI’s Use in Healthcare

Opening: Medical students from Wayne State University and Michigan State University respectively, Prit Patel and Sneha Sundar will present the current research on the environmental and public health implications of data centers and their potential connections to artificial intelligence, with a focus on Michigan. They will summarize key findings from the literature and share a new Michigan-based analysis examining data center siting, emissions, and their impacts on surrounding communities, focusing on environmental justice and health equity.

Second Presentation: Dr. Manijeh Berenji will present on the current state of evidence on how AI is being used across healthcare systems and examines emerging methods for measuring that use at the organizational, clinical, and system levels. Her work highlights what we know so far, where major data gaps remain, and why rigorous quantification of AI deployment is essential for governance, safety, cost, and workforce impact.