Increasingly powerful AI systems are accompanied by an 'unanswerable' question

Artificial intelligence and neural networks are poised to take over the medical industry, particularly image-centric specialties like radiology and dermatology, thanks to the technology's ability to mimic the human brain. A study published in January found that artificial intelligence was just as accurate at diagnosing instances of skin cancer as 21 board certified dermatologists, raising the prospect that the diagnostic capabilities of machines could soon surpass humans. Sebastian Thurn, one of the authors of that study and a computer science professor at Stanford University, told the New Yorker that the success of that study relied on building a neural network with a basic framework in place: The ability to recognize unrelated images. Similar to the way a child learns to differentiate between a dog and cat, the ability to align neural networks with human learning improves the speed at which AI can process information, offering seemingly boundless potential within the healthcare industry. But the neural networks that make AI so powerful also make them difficult to understand.