KBS ‘Issue PICK with Teacher’
At 7:10 p.m. on the 11th, episode 262 of KBS1 ‘Issue PICK with Teacher’ will air under the title ‘2026 New Year Project - The Future Seen Through the Nobel Prize] Part 2. Can AI Conquer Cancer?’
The 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is regarded as recognizing a discovery that presented a crucial principle: “The core of true therapy is not to make immunity unconditionally stronger, but to modulate it intelligently according to the situation.”
Our body’s immune system serves like a reliable guard that blocks viruses and bacteria that invade countless times every day. Thanks to this, we can maintain our health without major problems. However, if the immune system becomes excessively activated, it can fail to distinguish between friend and foe and attack normal tissues, resulting in autoimmune diseases.
Playing a key role in this process are ‘regulatory T cells.’ Regulatory T cells act as a brake that prevents the immune system from becoming overly excited. For this function to operate properly, however, the FOXP3 gene is essential. This achievement made it clear that the immune system is not a system that only has an ‘accelerator pedal’ to attack enemies, but is also equipped with a sophisticated ‘braking device’ that can stop and regulate according to the situation. Through this, new therapeutic strategies have opened up that regulate the immune system as needed, from autoimmune diseases and transplant rejection to cancer treatments that must strengthen immunity.
If the Nobel Prize suggested the ‘direction’ of treatment, AI is implementing it as technology that can be applied in real clinical settings by leveraging the vast scientific data accumulated to date. Looking at the link between medicine and AI, we can see that an era is arriving in which AI analyzes our body’s massive genomic and biological data to diagnose cancer earlier and more accurately and to realize personalized treatment. We take an in-depth look at the role AI plays in analyzing the complex immune system and seeing through the strategies of cancer cells.
KBS ‘Issue PICK with Teacher’
AI and medicine: How far have diagnosis and treatment come?
Professor Park Joo-kyung of the Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine also introduced cases where recent AI medical technology is being used in actual diagnostic settings. In the United States, AJ Kay was told in an initial X-ray examination that “there was no fracture.” After uploading the image to the AI chatbot ‘Grok,’ the reply came back that “there is a clear fracture line in the distal radius,” and a subsequent re-examination by a specialist confirmed a real fracture.
As in this example, on the diagnostic side AI functions as a ‘tool that extends the eyes and ears.’ In radiology, it can quickly and consistently detect subtle lesions on X-ray, CT, and MRI, shortening reading time and helping catch early findings. In pathology, it enables quantitative analysis of the distribution and microarchitecture of cancer cells and immune cells through digital slides, making objective quantification possible in ways that are difficult for the human eye. In addition, when applied to genomic analysis and liquid biopsy technologies, it expands the possibilities of early cancer detection and recurrence prediction. Professor Park explained, “AI does not replace diagnosis, but it helps ensure that things are not missed.”
In the therapeutic realm as well, AI is being used as a ‘decision-support tool.’ It presents the likelihood of a patient’s response to specific anticancer drugs or immunotherapies and is also applied in precision medicine that recommends personalized treatment strategies by integrating genomic, clinical, and imaging data. AI has now reached a stage where it is substantively involved across the entire process of diagnosis and treatment beyond a mere auxiliary tool, establishing itself as a partner that makes clinicians’ judgments more accurate and faster rather than a technology that replaces everything.
Challenges AI healthcare needs to address
Professor Park identified technical and social challenges, issues of access and cost, and equity as problems that ‘AI healthcare’ must resolve. He characterized this as “an era not of AI-only medicine but of ‘AI + expert medicine,’” emphasizing, “We must examine not only how smart AI is, but also whether it provides equitable health benefits to everyone.”
KBS ‘Issue PICK with Teacher’
The limits of AI in healthcare, and the role of humans
Professor Park Joo-kyung also mentioned how we should view medicine in the AI era, citing the film ‘Gattaca.’ He explained, “This film carries the message that human will is stronger than genetic limits, and that resembles our stance on medicine in the AI era.”
Professor Park said, “AI is making cancer diagnosis faster and accelerating the pace of new drug development, and it has already penetrated deeply into clinical practice to improve diagnostic accuracy and make treatment decisions more precise,” adding, “However, AI is evolving not into a technology that replaces physicians but into one that amplifies physicians’ judgment.” He continued, “No matter how much technology advances, what AI cannot replace is human will and courage, and the power to keep living,” emphasizing, “The goal of AI for precision medicine should be a technology that enables every patient to receive better treatment, not the health of only some people.”
KBS1 ‘Issue PICK with Teacher ’ episode 262 ‘2026 New Year Project – The Future Seen Through the Nobel Prize] Part 2. Can AI Conquer Cancer?’ will air at 7:10 p.m. on January 11, 2026, and after the broadcast it can be rewatched via the KBS website, Wavve(Wavve), and the YouTube ‘KBS Culture’ and ‘KBS Documentary’ channels.
