Three-quarters of patients would recommend artificial intelligence as a component of clinical decision-making for skin cancer, according to a survey. "The use of artificial intelligence (AI) is expanding throughout the field of medicine," Caroline A. Nelson, MD, of the department of dermatology at Yale School of Medicine, and colleagues wrote, adding that researchers are investigating the use of AI in classifying skin lesions. "Although AI is poised to change how patients engage in health care, patient perspectives remain poorly understood." The researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with 48 patients in general dermatology clinics at Brigham and Women's Hospital and melanoma clinics at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute to determine how patients think about the risks, benefits, strengths and weakness of AI as it pertains to skin cancer screening. They also aimed to determine how patients feel about the differences between human and AI clinical decision-making.

"The long-term goal and true potential of AI is to replicate the complexity of human thinking at the macro level, and then surpass it to solve complex problems--problems both well-documented and currently unimaginable in nature."1 Skin cancer has reached epidemic proportions in much of the world. A simple test is needed to perform initial screening on a wide scale to encourage individuals to seek treatment when necessary. Doctor Hazel, a skin cancer screening service powered by artificial intelligence (AI) that operates in real time, relies on an extensive library of images to distinguish between skin cancer and benign lesions, making it easier for people to seek professional medical advice. Hackathons have proven to be a successful way to channel energy and technical expertise into solving very specific problems and generating bright, new ideas for applied technology.