Why Condi Rice believes AI and other emerging technologies have our world in a ‘hinge-of-history’ moment | and more AI news, views & findings

Dave Pearson | January 26, 2026 | Health Exec | Artificial Intelligence

Condoleezza Rice. (Public domain photo from U.S. Department of State)

Those who closely follow news and views on AI risk missing out on nine other technology categories that are changing our world just as fast.

Or, as Stanford Prof. Condoleezza Rice puts it, we presently face a “hinge-of-history” moment. “Never before have so many emerging technologies advanced so quickly or with such far-reaching consequences. … History will judge not only what we invented but also how and why we chose to do so.” The former U.S. secretary of state and national security advisor uses those words to introduce an important new report from Stanford’s Hoover Institution, which she leads. The 228-page volume, released Jan. 26, is the third annual edition of the Stanford Emerging Technology Review. Of course AI is covered. But what else? Read on for excerpts from a subsection on emerging technologies in, specifically, health and medicine.

Biotechnology and synthetic biology. Synthetic biology has “remarkable potential to contribute to the creation of new drugs as well as to pathogen detection and neutralization,” the Stanford researchers point out. DNA sequencers and synthesizers using the internet, they add, allow researchers around the world to gather information on viruses ahead of outbreaks. However, they note, “that same speed and accessibility raise concerns about potential misuse of the technology by bad actors.” Also unclear is how new biological organisms will interact with existing environments.
Cryptography and computer security. Blockchain technology can securely store all data from a person’s important documents, including medical records, in encrypted form while facilitating selective data retrieval that protects a patient’s privacy, the authors point out. “This approach enables the performance of data analytics on aggregated and anonymized datasets,” they note, “enabling researchers and internal auditors to access information without violating patients’ privacy rights.”
Energy technologies. A transition from fossil fuel energy to a renewable energy-based world economy “would reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prevent thousands of premature deaths from pollution and extreme weather events,” the authors write. “Eliminating energy-related air pollution in the United States alone could prevent more than 50,000 deaths annually and save hundreds of billions of dollars a year from avoided illness.” Meanwhile reducing carbon dioxide emissions, they surmise, will result in less extreme climates, which in turn will lead to fewer health problems from extreme heat.
Neuroscience. Advances in neuroscience may help address neurodegeneration and related diseases such as chronic pain, depression, opioid dependency and Alzheimer’s disease, the Stanford researchers report. These advances “could dramatically improve quality of life for patients (and their families) and potentially reverse the anticipated rising costs associated with care.” At the same time, the authors acknowledge the learning curve will be long for brain researchers seeking to translate breakthroughs and discoveries in the lab into safe and effective interventions fit for the clinic.
Robotics. Greater adoption of robotics in health and medicine will require moving workers to new roles, the authors state. “Standards will need to be set for human safety around robots and to clarify limits to robotic applications.” Ethical questions include whether a robot’s performance must be near-perfector just comparable to an average human’s. “Safety considerations for human-robot interactions will be an ongoing challenge,” the authors predict.
- The other emerging technologies covered are materials science, quantum computing, semiconductors and space. The report is available in full for free.

Another national figure who’s thought deeply about the tech revolution is the owner of Time magazine.

Marc Benioff also happens to be co-founder, chairman and CEO of one of the world’s biggest and most influential tech companies, Salesforce. In Time’s Jan. 26 issue, Benioff lays out several conclusions he’s made about generative AI. In his opinion, these points must be embraced by “every leader and organization” to “ensure that this remarkable technology delivers on its potential.”

LLMs are becoming interchangeable infrastructure. “History shows us that, as a technology matures, the market moves beyond the initial breakthrough into a continuous game of innovation leapfrog,” Benioff writes. “Over time, LLMs will become more of a commodity layer, chosen less for uniqueness and more for performance, efficiency and availability. AI agents themselves will move fluidly across models, selecting the right one for the task at hand, often without a human ever noticing.”
What matters most is what gets built on top of any given LLM—especially thedata and workflows that connect AI to the way we work and live. “Trusted data brings context, truth and greater understanding; apps provide the workflows,” Benioff states. “AI agents tie it all together with speed, insight and the ability to operate at a level of productivity and scale that no team could manage on its own.”
It is people who bring the creativity to ‘see around corners.’ Humans also maintain the values that guide decisions as well as the relationships that hold customers and teams together, Benioff points out. “That’s why I believe deeply that humans must stay at the center of the Agentic Enterprise, with AI working alongside us,” he adds. “AI should elevate humanity, not diminish it.”
The essential task before us is not to predict which LLM will win in the marketplace. It is to build systems that empower AI for the benefit of humanity, Benioff insists. “The choices we make now—about architecture, governance, and partnership between people and machines—will determine whether we turn this moment of possibility into lasting progress that strengthens institutions, expands opportunity and unlocks human potential.”

Shadow AI is widespread in health systems.

Is it ever. According to a new survey conducted by Wolters Kluwer, 40% of healthcare professionals have encountered unauthorized AI tools in the workplace—and nearly 20% admit to using them. What’s driving the BYOT trend? Half the respondents named the need for speed. One in 10 said they had used an unauthorized AI tool for a direct patient care use case. More from the survey report and announcement of its release:

Administrators are three times more likely to be actively involved in healthcare AI policy development than providers (30% vs. 9%), “suggesting policy ownership is more centralized within hospital administrative roles,” the report authors write. When it comes to awareness, however, 29% of providers are aware of the main policies versus 17% of administrators.
A majority of healthcare professionals use AI tools and believe the technology will have a positive impact on healthcare. More than half of healthcare professionals frequently use AI tools or rely on AI tools for their work, the surveyors found. Healthcare professionals express strong optimism about AI’s impact on healthcare, with nearly 90% agreeing or strongly agreeing that AI will significantly improve healthcare within the next five years. The top use for AI for both providers (60%) and administrators (78%) was data analysis indicating deep integration into workflow, Wolters Kluwer reports.
Both providers (25%) and administrators (26%) rank patient safety as their top concern around AI in healthcare. Among administrators, patient safety is the top overall concern, followed by concerns about privacy and data breaches. Providers rank inaccurate outputs as their second biggest concern, with administrators ranking privacy second.
Health data security is a worry. Nearly a quarter of healthcare professionals express concern about privacy and security risks associated with AI in healthcare, “highlighting fears of healthcare data breaches, unauthorized access and the need for robust protection measures,” Wolters Kluwer reports.
- The report can be downloaded here.

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Dave Pearson

Dave P. has worked in journalism, marketing and public relations for more than 30 years, frequently concentrating on hospitals, healthcare technology and Catholic communications. He has also specialized in fundraising communications, ghostwriting for CEOs of local, national and global charities, nonprofits and foundations.