Artificial intelligence (AI) is ushering in a transformative era for traditional medicine, one where centuries-old healing systems are enhanced by cutting-edge technologies to deliver safer, more personalized, effective, and accessible care.
At the AI for Good Global Summit, the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) released a new technical brief, Mapping the application of artificial intelligence in traditional medicine.
Launched under the Global Initiative on AI for Health, this brief offers a roadmap to harness AI’s potential responsibly while safeguarding cultural heritage and data sovereignty.
Traditional, complementary, and integrative medicine (TCIM) is practiced in 170 countries and used by billions of people worldwide. Its popularity continues to grow, driven by a global interest in holistic health approaches emphasizing prevention, health promotion, and rehabilitation.
The new brief showcases experiences from various countries using AI to unlock new frontiers in personalized care, drug discovery, and biodiversity conservation. Examples include AI-powered diagnostics in Ayurgenomics; machine learning models identifying medicinal plants in Ghana and South Africa; and AI analysis of traditional medicine compounds to treat blood disorders in the Republic of Korea.
“Our Global Initiative on AI for Health aims to help all countries benefit from AI solutions and ensure that they are safe, effective, and ethical,” said Seizo Onoe, Director of the ITU Telecommunication Standardization Bureau. “This partnership of ITU, WHO, and WIPO brings together essential expertise.”
The brief emphasizes the importance of good-quality, inclusive data and participatory design to ensure AI systems reflect the diversity and complexity of traditional medicine.
AI applications can strengthen the evidence and research base for TCIM, as seen in initiatives like the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library in India and the Virtual Health Library in the Americas. These efforts help preserve Indigenous knowledge, promote collaboration, and prevent biopiracy, the unauthorized extraction of biological resources or traditional knowledge from developing countries without proper compensation.
“Intellectual property is an important tool to accelerate the integration of AI into traditional medicine,” said WIPO Assistant Director-General Edward Kwakwa.
“Our work at WIPO, including the recently adopted WIPO Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge, supports stakeholders in managing IP to deliver on policy priorities, including for Indigenous Peoples and local communities.”
The new document calls for urgent action to uphold Indigenous Data Sovereignty (IDSov) and ensure that AI development is guided by free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) principles.
It highlights community-led data governance models from Canada, New Zealand, and Australia, and urges governments to adopt legislation that empowers Indigenous Peoples to control and benefit from their data.
“AI must not become a new frontier for exploitation,” said Dr Yukiko Nakatani, WHO Assistant Director-General for Health Systems.
“We must ensure that Indigenous Peoples and local communities are not only protected but are active partners in shaping the future of AI in traditional medicine.”
With the global TCIM market projected to reach nearly US$600 billion in 2025, the application of AI could further accelerate its growth and impact. While current utilization highlights many opportunities, there are still significant knowledge gaps and risks.
There is a need to develop holistic frameworks tailored to TCIM in areas such as regulation, knowledge sharing, capacity building, data governance, and the promotion of equity to ensure the safe, ethical, and evidence-based integration of frontier technologies such as AI into the traditional medicine landscape.
The new technical brief calls on all stakeholders to invest in inclusive AI ecosystems that respect cultural diversity and Indigenous data sovereignty, develop national policies and legal frameworks that explicitly address AI in traditional medicine, build capacity and digital literacy among traditional medicine practitioners and communities, establish global standards for data quality, interoperability, and ethical AI use, and safeguard traditional knowledge through AI-powered digital repositories and benefit-sharing models.
By aligning the power of AI with the wisdom of traditional medicine, a new paradigm of care can emerge, one that honors the past, empowers the present and shapes a healthier, more equitable future for all.
