Artificial intelligence (AI) will have a major impact and will be tremendously useful in a number of healthcare applications such as diagnostics, data mining, user’s health assistance, drug discovery, surgery and so many more. There are increasing discussions regarding how AI can represent solutions to existing or emerging healthcare challenges. Big firms such as PwC (PriceWaterhouseCoopers) are releasing reports on AI’s potential impact and experts such as Fei-Fei Li and Andrew Ng agree that it is a transformational force in motion. These experts have recently held an online conference to discuss the opportunities that AI has to offer, which was attended by over 18000 people in 140 different countries. Even though they think that the AI technologies will have a relatively slow pace of entry in healthcare, it is clear that there is a great future ahead, which is currently being built.
AI will transform healthcare and medical practice. The question may be open as to whether or not the transformation will occur rapidly but there is no question that it will occur. It is occurring. Already medical programs are starting to think about adjusting medical training according to AI advances and major healthcare institutions such as the National Institutes of Health in the United States are positioning the rise of AI. As this unfolds, growing questions regarding the potential flip side of such powerful technology are emerging such as how health data may be used or on the future of medical practice itself. Could there be a Dr. AI replacing human physicians? And with the rise of Dr. AI looming, should we be concerned about a potential Mr. Hyde developing in the background?
As we witness and enable the rise of AI for our own health benefit, it seems appropriate to ask ourselves if we are also introducing the potential for a Mr. Hyde to emerge in its shadow at the same time. It may very well be too early to tell what kind of unwanted consequences we could face and to what extent but there are prominent voices urging for this powerful technology to be regulated. For instance, the well-known Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, spoke quite often and strongly about the urgent need to regulate and manage the risk that the rise of AI represents. Perhaps his somewhat alarmist stance is too much. Or maybe not. But who can honestly claim to know for sure? In the face of uncertainty, caution is usually a good thing. Health data, medical care and numerous other sensitive dimensions of our health are at stake. AI can be an amazing source of improvements for our systems and the care provided. It can also come with a dark side if not introduced and used properly.
Let me be clear here. I am not trying to promote the belief that artificial intelligence is a potential evil; quite the contrary. It is one of the most important technological advances that will propel healthcare in the 21st century. I am only stressing that perhaps we need to tread carefully as we integrate AI into our health care systems given its significant transformational power. For instance, the transformation of medical practice through this technology is inevitable and comes with a delicate transition to steer. The human factor involved in medicine is unlikely to be replaced by AI anytime soon. Exercising judgment, moral standards and emotional empathy are all but a few examples of what physicians and health care professionals offer to patients that technology cannot replace to this day. As we contemplate the rise of Dr. AI, which is full of promises, we may wish to dig deeper into what it may also bring with it as unwanted consequences. Digging deeper will certainly unearth more discoveries and questions. But these are different stories and good ones for other articles…
In the meantime, may you be well, may you be happy.
B.
REFERENCES / ARTICLES OF INTEREST:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6616181/
https://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/article/reimagining-medical-education-age-ai/2019-02