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Should Doctors Worry About Being Replaced By Artificial Intelligence?

Larissa James891 01-Aug-2019

To say that artificial intelligence is bound to reshape almost every industry we know would be redundant. It is a fact that we’re all slowly accepting, if we haven’t already done so.

In creating an intelligence that is self-aware and capable of learning would not only allow it to be self-sustaining, but it would also allow it to function without human supervision. It’s because of this self-correcting ability that allows us to leave certain tasks to AI. We automate these tasks not simply because artificial intelligence can perform them, but rather because AI can perform these tasks better than we can (arguably).

And because of this, a lot of professionals are worried about being replaced by artificial intelligence and robots in the future. Because of its ability to interpret massive amounts of data, artificial intelligence might even be more effective than doctors at making clinical diagnoses. But is that really the case?

Well, Not Really… Here’s Why

Much of the effectiveness of artificial intelligence is going to come from its ability to interpret data. For that to be feasible, the task is going to require human intervention to gather data and human eyes to perceive it.

Furthermore, the most limiting factor here is that AI cannot feel anything, and therefore, cannot relate to the patient’s plight accurately enough to determine what other parts of the body could be affected.

Try imagining how you’d “explain” to an AI what pain feels like or try attempting to make it decide on matters that have moral implications and that aren’t always logical, as is the case with euthanasia and other similar scenarios. You’d completely understand why AI cannot replace doctors and nurses, at least for now. These are jobs that require a human touch and a human understanding of the patient.

So What Is AI Good For, Then?

Artificial intelligence is by no means useless in the medical field. It should be perceived as a tool rather than a threat. With the way it currently is, it can help with tasks that aren’t directly involved with medical practice. By automating administrative tasks such as billing, medical professionals can, then, focus more on being doctors and nurses.

And while we already have services like https://www.openpracticesolutions.com/ that already make billing as simple as possible, consider the possibility of having AI work in tandem with these services in such a way that all a doctor would need to do is to focus on their work. Wouldn’t that make our medical professionals much more efficient at what they do?

However, it’s also important to take note of the rate at which technology evolves. You never know when a technological breakthrough could be attained that could effectively solve all the previously-mentioned limitations on AI. We may not know what AI might be capable of later, but we do know what limitations it currently has.

Remember that the main selling point of artificial intelligence is its ability to learn, with that in mind, the technology is limited to how much data it can assimilate into itself. With no data, there isn’t going to be any learning. Yes, artificial intelligence is bound to alter the way many industries function, but it’s going to take some time for these businesses to be able to completely integrate AI into their processes. But, nonetheless, it’s an exciting prospect to see what the technology can do for us.


Larissa James has MA in Intercultural communication and translation studies. She well experienced in internet marketing, SEO and is passionate about blogging to share her expertise. Larissa is a regular contributor at many online publishers like theglobaldispatch.com, thestartupmag.com, marketoracle.co.uk, newswire.net, bizcommunity.com, socialnomics.net and more.

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