New AI System Predicts How Long Patients Will Live With Startling Accuracy

By using an artificially intelligent algorithm to predict patient mortality, a research team from Stanford University is hoping to improve the timing of end-of-life care for critically ill patients. In tests, the system proved eerily accurate, correctly predicting mortality outcomes in 90 percent of cases. But while the system is able to predict when a patient might die, it still cannot tell doctors how it came to its conclusion. Doctors must consider an array of complex factors, ranging from a patient's age and family history to their response to drugs and the nature of the affliction itself. To complicate matters, doctors have to contend with their own egos, biases, or an unconscious reluctance to assess a patient's prospects for what they are.