Researchers will shine light into the black box of artificial intelligence in medicine

BROOKLYN, New York, Tuesday, September 3, 2019 - As artificial intelligence and data science enable computer tools to make predictions previously made by skilled humans, a different knowledge gap looms: These black-box tools often offer highly trained medical personnel little understanding of their inner workings. Equally little understood: how deploying these tools affects experts' work practices, perceptions of the value of work, and the expert-patient relationship. Researchers from New York University and Georgia Tech are conducting foundational research to understand and improve expert work in an age of data-intensive enhanced cognition, especially in healthcare, where new technologies are rapidly being deployed. The National Science Foundation recently awarded the team $2 million for the four-year project, which is expected to transform the future of expert work through a combined redesign of technology, workflow, and interactions. "Better understanding of how new technologies impact healthcare expert work will lead to more effective use of healthcare technologies, a healthier and better-informed population, and the more efficient use of human capabilities in restructured healthcare occupations," said NYU Tandon School of Engineering Professor of Technology Management and Innovation Oded Nov, the principal investigator.