5 Reasons Why Artificial Intelligence Won’t Replace Physicians
Although many signs are pointing towards
the fact that A.I. will completely move the world of
medicine, and many other technologies will also have
a transformative effect on the industry, stating that the
[5] majority of medical professionals will disappear, is
fearmongering and irresponsible.
According to a report by Carl Benedikt Frey and
Michael A. Osborne from the University of Oxford,
medical transcriptionists, medical records and health
[10] information technicians and medical secretaries are
the most likely jobs to be computerized in the future,
but physicians and surgeons have a 0.42 percent
chance for their professions being automated.
Moreover, A.I. will transform the meaning of what
[15] it means to be a doctor: some tasks will disappear,
while others will be added to the work routine. However,
there will never be a situation where the embodiment
of automation, either a robot or an algorithm will take
the place of a doctor. Let me tell you five reasons why.
[20] 1) We cannot replace empathy
Even if the array of technologies will offer brilliant
solutions, it would be difficult for them to mimic
empathy. Why? Because at the core of empathy, there
is the process of building trust: listening to the other
[25] person, paying attention to their needs, expressing
the feeling of compassion and responding in a manner
that the other person knows they were understood.
At present, you would not trust a robot or a
smart algorithm with a life-altering decision or even
[30] with a decision whether or not to take painkillers, for
that matter. But we might never be able to imagine
healthcare without human empathy. We will need
doctors holding our hands while telling us about a
life-changing diagnosis, their guide through therapy
[35] and their overall support. An algorithm cannot replace
that. Ever
2) Physicians have a non-linear working
method
There was an episode in House M.D. where
[40] the team couldn’t figure out how a young boy could
have been poisoned. They considered many options:
drugs, food poisoning, pesticide poisoning. For
every possible diagnosis, they suggested a different
treatment option. Each one of them made the patient
[45] worse – until they figured out, by accident, that the
boy picked up phosmet, a type of insecticide from the
jeans that he bought from a street vendor who kept
the trousers in a truck. The boy didn’t wash the piece
of clothing before wearing it, that’s how his skin could
[50] absorb the poison.
No algorithm could have made that diagnosis.
Although data, measurements and quantitative
analytics are a crucial part of a doctor’s work, setting
up a diagnosis and treating a patient are not linear
[55] processes. It requires creativity and problem-solving
skills that algorithms and robots will never have.
3) Complex digital technologies require
competent professionals
More and more sophisticated digital health
[60] solutions will require the competence of qualified
medical professionals, no matter whether it’s
about robotics or A.I. Take the example of the most
commonly known surgical robot, the da Vinci Surgical
System. It features a magnified 3D high-definition
[65] vision system and tiny wristed instruments that bend
and rotate far greater than the human hand. However,
surgeons have to learn how to operate it, and it takes
practice to master it.
Likewise, look at IBM Watson. Its unique program
[70] for oncologists provides clinicians evidence-based
treatment options. Nonetheless, it’s only doctors
together with their patients who can choose the
treatment, and only physicians can evaluate whether
the smart algorithm came up with potentially useful
[75] suggestions. No robot or algorithm could clearly
interpret complex, multi-layered challenges —
involving the psyche. While they will provide the data,
interpretation will always remain a human territory
4) There will always be tasks algorithms and
[80] robots can never complete
Physicians, nurses and other members of the
medical staff have plenty of cumbersome monotonous
and repetitive tasks to complete every single day.
However, there are responsibilities and duties which
[85] technologies cannot perform. While IBM Watson can
sift through millions of pages of documents in seconds,
it will never be able to do the Heimlich maneuver.
There will always be tasks where humans will be
faster, more reliable — or cheaper than technology.
[90] 5) It has never been tech vs. human
The consistent and constant enemy image
building should stop once and for all. It has never
been technology versus humans since technological
innovations always serve the purpose to help people.
[95] We are playing on the same team. No matter whether
it’s A.I., robotics, augmented or virtual reality, we
should accept that they have a massive influence on
the way healthcare operates, and then start utilizing
their power.
[100] Collaboration between humans and technology is
the ultimate response. The Medical Futurist believes
that this is the perfect example for the coming decades.
Technology will help bring medical professionals
towards a more efficient, less error-prone and more
[105] seamless healthcare. Our team insists on the usage
of digital tools as we are confident that if utilized in
the right way — ethical and legal concerns NOT set
aside — the physician will have more time for the
patient, the doctor can enjoy his work and healthcare
[110] will move into an overall positive direction.
Available at: http://medicalfuturist.com/5-reasons-artifi cial- -intelligence-wont-replace-physicians. Retrieved on: June 30, 2018. Adapted
In the fragment of the text “Nonetheless, it’s only doctors together with their patients who can choose the treatment” (lines 71-73), the word Nonetheless expresses an idea of
