3 Big Questions About AI-Guided Medicine

Last month, I discussed how artificial intelligence (AI) and "deep learning" algorithms could have a profound impact on the practice of medicine. This month, I'd like to cover three questions that patients, doctors, and policymakers might wish to ask as we approach the era of AI-guided health care. One of the potential promises of AI in medicine is the ability to comb through thousands (or millions) of patient records to detect clinically significant patterns not yet discovered by human researchers. A UK study showed AIs could more reliably predict who might be at risk for future heart attacks and strokes than models based on the best human guidelines from the American Heart Association. The AI project "Deep Patient" showed similar promise in predicting who might develop "severe diabetes, schizophrenia, and various cancers."