Will Artificial Intelligence Become My Doctor?

Artificial intelligence (AI) is riding over the countryside and the globe on a tidal wave.  It will gather strength and will become a tsunami sooner than we think.  Like any tool, its use depends upon the intent of the user.   A hammer can be used to build but can also be used to break.  It can serve as a weapon.  The tool bears no culpability.

We have no reliable way to prevent tools from being used for nefarious activities. I don’t think the solution is to eliminate hammers from society to reduce hammer violence.  The overall idealized strategy is to stifle dark intent lurking within people so that they might not consider taking evil actions. Sadly, we have all seen that this worthy task is far out of reach.  We simply don’t have a tool to accomplish this.

A tool with many uses.

AI will be a tool like no other.  It will deliver preternatural benefits in every sphere of society. I predict that it will make the internet seem quaint by comparison. It already has. Think of the world wide web as a site to find a recipe; AI may be able to prepare the meal.  We already know the sinister acts that AI can commit against innocent people, businesses, financial institutions, government agencies and nations around the world.  You can imagine the shocking and horrifying scenarios yourselves.

But there are AI actions that may fall somewhere between good and evil.  Remember when Uber and other ride share companies launched? This was a major disruption that was greeted differently by the public than it was by the taxi and car rental industries.  Let’s take it a step further.  At some point, most motor vehicles will be operated without a human driver.  These rides will be safer than car and truck travel today and will allow the human passengers to engage in personal business and activities while en route, such as checking TikTok for critical updates!  But this advance will be a gut punch to the millions of individuals who currently earn their living behind the wheel.  This will not be good news for them or for their families. 

But its not only truck drivers who should be worried.  AI will flow across the country like hot lava incinerating industries, blue and white-collar occupations and large sectors of the economy.  What are all of these folks going to do?  Train to be coders?  Don’t you think that AI will be doing the coding that computer scientists are now doing?

And, even if an occupation remains, AI will become an integral part of it. If an attorney currently spends 100 hours of time researching legal issues for a client, and AI can reduce this to 5 hours with an equal or better result, then clients will benefit to the financial detriment of the lawyer.  Will the legal community champion AI?

I’m a physician.  When AI matures to when it can diagnose and propose treatment options better than I can, then what is my role in the medical profession?  While patients and physicians today prioritize the human touch, empathy and bedside manners, I think we would forego all of this if a machine could deliver higher quality care. 

Inevitable and profound disruption is upon us.  There will be winners and losers as so often occurs with progress.  What seems to be downright impossible today will be reality tomorrow.

 

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