As Artificial Intelligence (AI) becomes even more present in day-to-day life, it is fair to be concerned that it may eventually disrupt the healthcare system. AI may not replace professionals in their work, but it has the potential to significantly alter certain procedures, augmenting efforts to care for patients.
There is an ongoing debate on whether or not AI is beneficial for society or harmful. In my opinion, AI has both pros and cons. AI can be very helpful when trying to retrieve information quickly and correctly. However, it can be equally harmful when it becomes a means of dependency for individuals, causing a further decline in the basic abilities of many. Additionally, too much dependency on AI can result in possible technological difficulties (during medical procedures) or even the production of misinformation. As many people who have experimented with the ChatGPT software may have come to know, it does not always produce a correct answer. This can cause a spread of misinformation among individuals who depend on AI too much.
Artificial intelligence tends to produce more harm than good. Nonetheless, it will inevitably continue to play a huge role in our society.
For students and working professionals in healthcare, AI will affect them a great deal. From administrative workflow to drug development, it will change the field drastically.
Currently, there are quite a few AI advancements in healthcare. The three most common areas where AI is present include:
- Personal Treatment
AI can be used to diagnose diseases without the need for a clinician. It can also aid in making decisions post-diagnosis.
- Analytics for Disease Prevention
Given the current rapid development of medical, dental, and vast health-related imaging techniques, AI can provide more assistance in improving the knowledge of healthcare practitioners, thus enabling them to spend more time in direct patient care as well as reducing personal fatigue.
- Drug Discovery and Development
Another important AI application is its ability to predict the efficacy and toxicity of drug compounds. Usually, drug discoveries and developments require labor-intensive and time consuming experiments done by biochemists to accurately assess potential effects of certain chemicals on the human body. However, AI can use certain techniques to overcome these humanistic limitations based on the analysis of large amounts of information. Therefore, AI algorithms can identify patterns and trends which may not be immediately visible to human researchers.
In conclusion, rather than simply making all tasks automated, AI essentially focuses on developing technologies which can further enhance patient care in all healthcare settings. However, as mentioned above, there are cons or challenges, specifically related to data privacy, bias, and the need for human expertise. These must be considered for effective implementation of AI in the future of healthcare.