Have you used Google Maps to plan your fastest route, asked Siri to find a healthy recipe for dinner, or asked Alexa to play your favourite songs?
Most of us use it every day, whether we realise it or not, but when artificial intelligence gets mentioned in healthcare it causes a few nerves.
There are understandably very real concerns about using AI in the medical sector. You are handling sensitive patient data, and the expertise and compassion of a doctor can never be replaced by a machine.
Yet technology offers a way to ease the administrative burden on doctors and improve access to care. AI-powered scribes that capture consultations in real-time are already in use.
Elsewhere, there is promising work underway using AI as a tool for diagnostic support in rural and remote areas.
Like it or not, technology is having a tangible impact on healthcare and doctors need to be at the forefront of shaping what that looks like rather than reacting after the train has left the station.
AI-powered scribes that capture consultations in real-time are already in use. Elsewhere, there is promising work underway using AI as a tool for diagnostic support in rural and remote areas.
While I appreciate the benefits AI has to offer, I can also sympathise with doctors’ concerns about the impact it will have in medicine.
I have seen the use of AI play out quite disastrously in the media and will shout from the rooftops that it will never replace a trained journalist.
Do I use AI? Yes, I find it very useful for scanning lengthy government reports and transcribing interviews.
Will I use it for writing and editing? Never.
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