On Wednesday (29 April), Big Penny Social in Walthamstow didn’t feel like a conference. And that was the point.
The inaugural Health + AI Tech Show, hosted by Insiders Intelligence Group, brought together over 1,000 NHS leaders, clinicians, regulators, founders and AI builders for a day focused not on vision decks or theory, but on what’s actually working (and what isn’t) in real-world healthcare. Across three parallel summits – diagnostics, drug discovery and hospital operations – the conversations were direct, often uncomfortable, and grounded in reality. AI isn’t failing because the tech doesn’t work. It’s failing because systems aren’t ready.
But what set the day apart wasn’t just the content – it was the format. LAB Clinics replaced passive listening with hands-on interaction. A fully plant-based event delivered measurable environmental impact. And Creative LDN blurred the lines between healthcare, culture and human experience, with everything from sound baths and yoga to fireside conversations with Adam Kay and a closing DJ set from Mr Scruff. This wasn’t a side programme. It was part of the point: if healthcare is human, the environment around it should be too.
Key themes cut across the day. Trust is not a feature – it’s the product. If AI adds noise, it fails. And perhaps most importantly, scaling is still the hardest part. From radiology to discharge summaries, speakers were clear: progress is real, but fragile. Pilots are easy. Systems change is not.
By the end of the day, one thing was clear. This wasn’t just another healthtech event. It was the opposite. Less stage, more substance. Less noise, more signal. And a room full of people not just talking about the future of healthcare, but actively building it.
