Elon Musk, one of the renowned brand ambassadors of the technology and in the current phase of AI, is of the opinion that the AI has already surpassed the doctors. Even if that is the case, for sure, the doctor’s knowledge is under challenge, being evaluated and validated by the patient, enabled by AI. For sure, the doctor’s word is no way either the first word or the last word. When LLMs hit the world, in their nascent format, it was widely believed that medical professionals would be one of the least to be impacted. Even before the third anniversary of the ChatGPT launch, the story is upholding pretty differently.
OpenAI leads it all, with lots closing in, the battle may just turn out to be neck to neck. “OpenAI has brought out a cancer to share her story that she had to use ChatGPT to help her advocate for herself and fight for her cancer and be able to challenge the doctors opinions, etc to make a better decision.” This post gives us a clear signal that the watershed moment of the medical profession has just begun. Doctor patient relationship is built on trust at differential levels, which has been eroded over the years for a variety of reasons, what will it mean in the age of artificial intelligence.
Do we see a battle of whatever kind between medical professionals and AI? One of the leading voices of technology stating what he calls the honest truth of AI being already better than doctors certainly underscores a one of a kind challenge to the medical profession. It is way beyond Google searches that had been frustrating them for quite some time. Think of the doctor’s predicament when the patient ends up saying, “But my AI said…” Doctors will certainly like to have his way, doctors can be wrong too, and hence can be useful to save lives. This thought needs to be given a serious thought.
Given the pace of the change, these facts are to be taken seriously by all medical practitioners for their own good. A practicing physician speaks what he is feeling on X. For the first time in his career, he feels the medical profession’s future is under threat. There is a different breed of patients now, who are making their presence felt; for better treatment and satisfaction. He says that the patients now arrive with highly granular, nuanced questions, inquiries that reflect detailed knowledge they have acquired from AI chatbots.
The patients today come with very, very difficult questions. If the doctor is not able to answer confidently and satisfactorily or provides a wrong answer, then what is the doctor’s fate? Trust is a huge risk in such scenarios. This brings the doctors to a career crossroad. How do they remain relevant? Remaining relevant requires more than clinical skills. Digital fluency is the key. A doctor needs to have the ability to critically assess AI-generated information and the emotional intelligence to address the patients’ deeper concerns. The physician of tomorrow must not only be a healer but also an informed interpreter of AI insights.
ARE THE MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS AWARE OF WHAT IS GOING TO HIT THEM?
Sanjay Sahay
Have a nice evening.