Radiology has always been on the cutting edge of technology in medicine, and artificial intelligence (AI) has made some progress within this specialty. But AI is at an inflection point. To make use of AI as a more accessible, trusted reality, radiology will need six critical components: 1) Reassurance that AI will never replace a physician With the growing body of evidence that shows the extraordinary potential of AI in healthcare, I find it interesting that widespread adoption remains slow. Although I hear multiple reasons for the reluctance of radiologists to embrace AI, one of the most common that I hear is the misperception that AI is going to put us radiologists out of business. This simply isn’t realistic. At the end of the day, algorithms address technology; radiologists take care of people, with all the inherent responsibilities, nuances and complexities. Algorithms aren’t designed to do that. However, It’s also increasingly unrealistic to expect radiologists to manage…

Headlines abound about doctors cowering from AI. I'm a physician, and don't think that's a realistic concern. Rather, I envision a future in which AI-enabled insights help health and medical experts deliver patient-centered, personalized, value-based care. For those of us at IBM, we are augmenting experts' ability to serve patients across the globe – unifying the benefits of man machine. What headlines often miss is the fact that doctors are steadily joining the ranks of clinicians who study, understand, and advance AI for both the prevention and treatment of disease.