Trustworthy AI was created this month by Paulo Quaresma and Vítor Nogueira, lecturers at the Department of Informatics at the University of Évora (UÉ), together with Jianbiao Dai, from the University of São José, in Macau, a semi-autonomous region of China.

“We do not intend, nor do we think it is possible, desirable or advantageous to replace healthcare professionals in any way,” but it will be “a decision support tool,” Paulo Quaresma told Lusa.

According to the professor and partner in the company, the AI system being developed by Trustworthy AI will “have the ability to explain [to healthcare professionals] why a particular diagnostic or therapeutic proposal” for a patient has been reached.

The AI system will analyse “the symptoms, medical history, context and all characteristics” of the patient and then explain to doctors or nurses, “with levels of confidence, why it is making the suggestion,” he said.

Paulo Quaresma pointed out that the solution will have “a learning history with many situations,” so “it may even alert the healthcare professional to situations that they may not be taking into account at the moment.”

With this system, “there is clearly the issue of saving time and also being able to contribute to improving the provision of healthcare services,” he said.

According to the official, the system, which can be used to support professionals in hospitals, health centres and nursing homes, is based on auditable, explainable and ethical AI methodologies to give it “a higher degree of confidence”.

In other words, it will have “the ability, on the one hand, to begin by explaining exactly why it has arrived at a particular response” and to be auditable so that “someone from outside can, with authorisation, carry out an audit to understand and identify exactly what the whole process is,” he explained.

Already installed in a space at the Alentejo Science and Technology Park (PACT), Trustworthy AI is now working on applications for EU funding from the Alentejo 2030 regional programme and support in Macau.

The professor and partner emphasised that the company intends to develop a pilot project in Alentejo and another in Macau over the next year to test and evaluate the solution, so that by the end of 2026, it can be extended to other locations.