From HAL to healthcare AI

25 June 2026

Health and medicine, Science and technology, Auckland Bioengineering Institute, Graduation, AI

Omar Garcia was the brightest kid in his rural Colombian school. Inspired by sci-fi novel 2001 A Space Odyssey, he became a computer pioneer, and one of the first Colombians with email and Facebook. Now he's a 72-year-old masters graduate at the Auckland Bioengineering Institute, and turning his mind back to AI.

Things didn't go that well for the humans involved with HAL 9000, the sentient supercomputer who went rogue in the 1968 novel/movie blockbuster 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Spoiler alert (if you really haven't seen the movie classic), HAL kills all except one of the astronauts on the mission. Sixty years on, the AI villain is still the epitome of everything we are most afraid of with artificial intelligence.

Scary? Maybe, but teenage Garcia was hooked. He'd never seen a real computer - even TVs were a luxury in the remote mountainous Colombian town of Santa Rosa de Viterbo; certainly his seamstress mum and truck driver dad couldn't afford one.

So when as a top student in his region he got a scholarship to university in Bucaramanga, he chose computing and systems engineering.

But after HAL 9000, computers were a big disappointment.

For a start, Bucaramanga's computer (the IBM 1620) was pretty limited - more like a glorified keypunch machine. Students typed their programs into a typewriter-like keyboard and the machine encoded the data onto physical paper cards via strategically-placed holes.

"For any advanced programming work, we had to take the pile of cards to Bogota (several hours on a bus) where they had a mainframe. The computer would translate the holes on the cards into machine code.

"We went over the weekend and came back on Monday. It meant we could only run a program once a week."

And the programmes were super-basic.

"I had imagined computers could do magic. Arthur C. Clarke had a computer which could take over a space ship. I expected something that could talk and think. But at that time computers couldn't do anything."

Garcia was not discouraged. When student protests closed all the public universities, he got a job in Medellin's EAFIT University, digitising its payroll system and academic register.

EAFIT didn't have a decent computer either, but at least the IBM service centre was only 20 minutes up the road.

"You felt important. There was high security and the computer was enormous - one floor in one of the biggest buildings in Medellin."

In 1978, Garcia earned a scholarship to do a computer science masters degree at the University of Michigan, where he took his first course in artificial intelligence. At last, he thought: HAL 9000.

Not even close.

"I thought it was going to be great, but it was rubbish. The only thing AI was good for was games. Funders were expecting artificial intelligence to be able to solve big problems, but for that you needed huge computer power. And at that time, the computers you needed did not exist.

"So they cut the funding. It was very disappointing."

Nonetheless, computing was moving fast, and that was exciting. Back in Colombia, Garcia was one of the most experienced computer programmers in the country. When email arrived, he got one of the first accounts; he signed up for Facebook as soon as it appeared.

"I really like everything that is new, but Facebook is not useful - I hate pictures."

I am not frightened by AI. The more powerful a thing is, the more likely it is to be misused, but people's brains will solve problems before catastrophes happen.

Omar Garcia Masters graduate, Auckland Bioengineering Institute

In 2000, Garcia got a scholarship to do a PhD in Australia. But as the Colombian recession deepened and political violence soared, the Colombian peso tanked. Garcia could no longer support his family on his stipend. He abandoned study and spent the best part of 25 years working in computing in Australia and then New Zealand.

At 71, he started studying again, at the University of Auckland, doing a Masters of Bioengineering at the Auckland Bioengineering Institute, examining spiking neural networks for multimodal neuroimaging. Once again, his work is at the edge of computing knowledge.

"This topic is at the intersection of brain-inspired computing, artificial intelligence and medical imaging," says supervisor Associate Professor Alan Wang, a globally recognised expert in intelligent medical informatics, working at the institute.

"This is a strong achievement for a masters student, especially as the topic requires understanding both advanced computing methods and biomedical imaging applications."

Wang says Garcia's background, intellectual curiosity, persistence and openness to learning gave him a distinctive way of thinking about the research.

"Returning to postgraduate study after a long and successful life journey takes courage and commitment. Omar brought with him a deep historical perspective on computing, from early computer science through to today's AI era."

If he goes on to do a PhD at Auckland Bioengineering Institute - and Garcia is already exploring ideas - it will be with the full backing of his two supervisors, who say any future research would add valuable knowledge in the field.

But for Garcia, a big motivation would be his love of learning in general and learning about technology in particular.

"I have been fortunate in my life. When I was born we had no technology - no phone, no television, no internet, no personal car even. Then through the 70s, 80s, 90s I was at the edge of new things. When you have nothing and you get something you are happy.

"I always look forward... For me, the developments in technology over the years show the power of the human brain. I am not frightened by AI. The more powerful a thing is, the more likely it is to be misused, but people's brains will solve problems before catastrophes happen."

In fact it may be AI that helps him get the PhD he's always dreamed about.

"I wasn't sure I could do it - writing in English has always been a barrier. Now AI can help. I think I'll do it."

Media contact

Nikki Mandow | Research communications
M: 021 174 3142
E: [email protected]

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