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Next topic today involves Google, Ascension and "Project Nightingale". You know the technology company Google. Ascension is a non-profit healthcare organization and "Project Nightingale" is the codename for a partnership between Google and Ascension. It was first reported by the Wall Street Journal earlier this week. Why is this significant? Ascension is one of the largest hospital systems in America. And by teaming up with Google, it's allowing at least 150 Google employees to access the medical information of millions of Americans.
Why are the two companies doing this? Google wants to be a major player in the U.S. healthcare industry. It wants a big share in that very large market. And Ascension is hoping Google's artificial intelligence technology will help doctors provide care by using patient's data to predict possible health problems. Google says the medical information it gathers will be kept separate from user information, like the website's People Visit or the YouTube videos they watch. And it says it will follow laws that will keep people's health information and medical records private.
So why is this controversial? Well Google does not need to notify patients who's medical information it gathers. So they may not know if Google is accessed things like test results, birthdates or diseases they've been diagnosed with. Like other tech companies, Google has been criticized and sometimes fined for illegally mishandling people's private information. And according to the Wall Street Journal, some Ascension employees have questioned how Google is collecting and sharing patient's information. Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft are also trying to increase their involvement in U.S. healthcare.
