If A.I. Can Diagnose Patients, What Are Doctors For?

If A.I. Can Diagnose Patients, What Are Doctors For? Large language models are transforming medicine--but the technology comes with side effects. "I'm worried these tools will erode my ability to make an independent diagnosis," a medical student said. In 2017, Matthew Williams, a thirtysomething software engineer with an athletic build and a bald head, went for a long bike ride in the hills of San Francisco. Afterward, at dinner with some friends, he ordered a hamburger, fries, and a milkshake. Midway through the meal, he felt so full that he had to ask someone to drive him home. That night, Williams awoke with a sharp pain in his abdomen that he worried was appendicitis. He went to a nearby emergency clinic, where doctors told him that he was probably constipated. They gave him some laxatives and sent him on his way. A few hours later, Williams's pain intensified. He vomited and felt as though his stomach might burst. A friend took him to a hospital, where a CT scan revealed cecal volvulus--a medical emergency in which part of the intestine twists in on itself, cutting off the digestive tract. The previous medical team had missed the condition, and may even have exacerbated it by giving him laxatives. Williams was rushed to the operating room, where surgeons removed about six feet of his intestines. After recovering from surgery, Williams began to experience severe diarrhea almost every time he ate. Doctors told him that his bowel just needed time to heal. "It got to the point where I couldn't go out, because I would constantly eat something that would make me sick," he said.