The problem that often comes to mind when reading an article about AI is what implications for the human workforce it will have. Will AI take over entire jobs such that workers will be put out of their job? Will AI outcompete men and women because it is more efficient and less costly? These are extremes that are realistic scenario’s when looking at the current speed of development of AI in combination with automatization and robotics. Obviously, there are substantial differences between different industries, but it is important to consider these future implications and how they might form a danger soon.
What I find interesting are the possibilities that are resulting from considering dangers like this. Being conscious lets some of the worlds brightest come up with the most creative solutions for industries where it is needed the most.
One of those industries is the healthcare industry. According to the WHO (2022), there will be a shortfall of approximately 15 million health workers by 2030. AI is already contributing heavily to increasing healthcare levels all over the world. It can mine and process human data far more quickly than humans themselves such that existent diseases can be found, or new ones even discovered. As AI becomes more developed and more intelligence, the prospects for the future of healthcare is increasing. For example, think about the time being saved if most of all clinical paperwork was done by AI. This would allow doctors to focus on people rather than on paperwork. Also, think about the increase in machine accuracy as AI is recognizing patterns more accurately and can therefore make predictions also significantly more accurate than humans. These are just two examples of the endless possibilities that AI can provide for the healthcare industry.
In my view, the healthcare industry is the industry that will undergo the most positive change as the result of AI implementation. I am therefore extremely curious to what AI holds for the future of the healthcare industry.
What do you think about the future of healthcare with regards to AI? Do you think there is a difference with other industries in terms of how important AI technologies can be?
References;
World Health Organization. (n.d.). Health workforce. World Health Organization. Retrieved September 15, 2022, from https://www.who.int/health-topics/health-workforce#tab=tab_1
I understand your enthusiasm and optimism but what do you think of (mainly ethical) downsides of AI in healthcare? Of course machines won’t take people’s jobs, as there is a labor shortage, but people seem reluctant to be treated by ‘impersonal’ robots that treat them as just another number. Additionally, just like many mistakes in other AI projects (like autonomous driving), the number of mistakes is lower, but the cause is scrutinized harder as people find dependence on algorithms to be distressing. Do you think such developments will hamper the implementation of AI in healthcare? Or would you say AI-driven machines will be taking Hippocrates’ oath along with their human contemporaries in no time?