Imagine a switch in your career choice and you are now training to become a doctor. Now if you would want to conceptualize all the medical knowledge there is, how long would it take? With the constant inflow of new information about treatments and changing medical technology, it seems impossible for humans to keep up with all these developments (Field, 2018). This is exactly the reason why I believe that artificial intelligence (AI) has potential in the healthcare sector.
It is not necessarily the physician’s intelligence that causes the largest difference between physicians, but the way they approach a patient problem(s) and the health systems that that support them. These last two factors give reason to believe that AI has the potential to grow in upcoming years. Take the developments in AI-assisted robotic surgery for example. The robots can analyze data from a patient’s medical records and are than able during a surgery to guide a surgeon’s instrument. This technique reduces the time patients’ need to recover from surgery (minimally invasive). Through AI robots are able to come up with new surgical techniques by learning from past operations (Marr, 2018).
Although the potential seems significant for the use of AI, this technology also brings its risks. Besides the risks that a patient is already exposed to during surgery, I can only imagine that robotic surgery brings risks such as the experience of surgeons with the use of the machines. But also the machine itself could fail during crucial moments. Does that not make us too dependent in life and dead situations? Does that give us reason to limit the scope of use to certain areas? Although these remain fair questions, I still believe that the minimally invasive technique that might not have existed before robotic surgery and the potential of reduced complications are benefits that outweigh the possible risks.
Sources:
– Field, H. (2018, July). AI Is Transforming Healthcare as We Know It. Here’s a Look at the Future — and the Opportunities for Entrepreneurs. Retrieved from https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/316430
– Marr, B. (2018, July). How Is AI Used In Healthcare – 5 Powerful Real-World Examples That Show The Latest Advances. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2018/07/27/how-is-ai-used-in-healthcare-5-powerful-real-world-examples-that-show-the-latest-advances/#1116787d5dfb
