The time was bound to come sooner than later when Artificial Intelligence (AI) would be considered a palatable replacement for the knowledge of many people. I’m not sure how many thought we’d be talking about doctors at the onset, however.
Already supercomputers like, IBM’s Watson, have been aiding medical professionals. Most impressively, Watson’s software can take doctor input and calculate odds and outcomes based on all documented cases that are relevant to a patient. In the case of a just-released study by the University of Birmingham, England, 20,000 patient cases were evaluated for successful diagnosis by doctors and AI. The results showed that 87% were accurate for AI and 86% for doctors.
Researchers said that the technology isn’t at the point where it’s completely reliable on its own and that the goal isn’t to head in that direction for the future. Instead, the goal is for faster diagnosis and treatment to ease the burden of over-taxed health systems and doctor shortages.
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