The EPIC Project’s Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) team, including Laura Smith, Iva Peh, family representative Samantha Marinello, the project’s Principal Investigator Javier Escudero, and CHAI’s PI and EPIC co-lead Sotirios Tsaftaris, attended this year’s CHAIFest. CHAIFest, organised by the AI Hub for Causality in Healthcare AI (CHAI), brought together researchers, clinicians, patients, and members of the public to explore the future of artificial intelligence in healthcare. We are incredible grateful to CHAI for inviting us to take part in such an inspiring event. CHAI's mission is to develop fully explainable, causal AI technologies that can help address healthcare challenges across prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. Held at the Core Technologies Facility in Manchester, the festival provided a fantastic opportunity for us to showcase the EPIC project and connect with a wide range of attendees. As part of our Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) programme, we spoke with visitors about the potential use of AI to support clinicians in diagnosing epilepsy in children. We gained valuable insight regarding their views, concerns and expectations regarding AI-assisted paediatric healthcare. Throughout the day, visitors were also invited to contribute ideas for the design of our remote EEG system. Using our suggestion box, they shared valuable feedback on features they felt would make the device practical, user-friendly, and suitable for use within community settings. Get involved in EPIC or hear more about our upcoming events and opportunities Contact the EPIC team In addition to exhibiting the project, we were delighted to take part in a series of roundtable discussions covering topics ranging from the use of large language models (LLMs) in healthcare to broader ethical challenges surrounding AI. One of the ethical dilemmas discussed, 'AI in the Community' was proposed by our research team. Participants discussed whether AI systems should play a role in diagnosing or treating children outside traditional healthcare settings, sparking thoughtful discussions about safety, trust, accessibility, and responsibility. What was already a fascinating and engaging day ended on a memorable note with dinner at the Manchester Museum, where attendees gathered beneath the skeleton of a prehistoric giant while continuing conversations about the future of healthcare innovation. The event was a wonderful opportunity to share our work, learn from others, and hear diverse perspectives that will help shape the future of EPIC. We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone involved in organising CHAIFest for hosting such a welcoming and thought-provoking event. We would also like to acknowledge the organisers' generous support in covering travel expenses for our PPIE partner Samantha, making it possible for lived experience perspectives to be included in discussions throughout the day. CHAIfest was a really memorable experience. It brought home to me just how much passion, expertise and commitment there is within the research community, something that members of the public don’t always get to see in such detail. From showcasing EPIC, to taking part in the round tables and hearing from the keynote speakers, it was a fantastic day and a great opportunity to see the wider impact of the research taking place. Samantha Marinello Family representative, EPIC team As a PPIE team, one of the most valuable things we took away from CHAIFest was the importance of creating opportunities for families and members of the public to ask questions and share their views on AI in healthcare. The event has helped us think about how we can make these conversations about AI more open, accessible and meaningful. We’ll take these insights forward as we continue to involve families in the EPIC project Laura Smith PPIE Lead, EPIC team See the full CHAIFest recap video and hear first-hand from the attendees | LinkedIn CHAI Hub website This article was published on Monday 21 September 2026
