How Artificial Intelligence Could Transform Medicine

Dr. Topol believes that A.I. can do more than enhance diagnoses and treatments. It can also save doctors from doing tasks like taking notes and reading scans, allowing them to spend more time connecting with their patients. Recently, we caught up with Dr. Topol to discuss his thoughts on where A.I. has the most potential to improve health care, where it might stumble, and how it could protect doctors from things like burnout and depression. Here are edited excerpts from our interview. Q. Can A.I. help to lower America's soaring health care costs?