AI & Healthcare: Adjusting To An Ultra-Modern Reality [Part 1]
Preparing for the future of "Artificial Intelligence-driven healthcare"
"The development of AI is as fundamental as the creation of the microprocessor, the personal computer, the Internet, and the mobile phone. It will change the way people work, learn, travel, get health care, and communicate with each other. Entire industries will reorient around it. Businesses will distinguish themselves by how well they use it."
Bill Gates.
While at work, most of the time, I always can't help but think about the many duties of healthcare professionals [nurses, doctors, radiologists, even the humble janitor] that "may" eventually be replaced by AI.
And I am not just talking about the mechanical or repetitious tasks or duties.
I refer to professional responsibilities requiring much mental, physical and emotional work.
Many prefer to avoid hearing this, especially in a very closed and highly confidential setting like the healthcare industry. Still, it's something we must all begin to talk about and quickly start preparing to adjust to— Artificial Intelligence will disrupt the healthcare ecosystem like no other technology in the history of man has before.
The microprocessor changed many things in healthcare—we designed medical devices that could do more than the old methods of physical examination we were accustomed to.
The Internet and the mobile phone have transformed how we consume healthcare and interact with healthcare professionals.
But nothing will change healthcare the way Artificial Intelligence will, at least for now. We do not know what the "unpredictable" future holds.
Scary Science
ChatGPT was tasked with sitting for highly technical medical examinations, and the algorithm passed with distinction.
It didn't just pass because it had access to an unimaginable amount of data but because it "KNEW" how to use the available data.
In other words, it knew how to "THINK."
The only difference now between you and an AI algorithm like CHATGPT may be the bones and flesh housing your mind and your ability to think about the future [AI doesn't know how to visualise future events. YET.] and maybe emotions [if only these guys could code emotions.]
Most of us don't know how powerful these AI tools are and how powerful they can be.
Some highly respected experts are already seriously concerned about the potential of AI in the future.
A pack of them even propose a short holiday on AI Research due to serious ethical concerns.
AI is like an atomic bomb or hydrogen bomb, or any other bomb scarier than these two.
We created these weapons, and now, we are doing all we can to prevent them from getting into the hands of the bad guys.
Imagine what bad guys will do with advanced AI.
They can start wars, spread propaganda, and build world-wrecking, earth-shattering DARK algorithms.
Do you think you have seen a Villain? AI will give us true Super-Villains. Not The Joker or Megamind, but real bad guys.
However, can we look at the bright side and the good AI will bring to humanity?
Especially in one of the most critical aspects of society, healthcare.
The AI Invasion
The recent massive historical layoffs in the tech ecosystem remind us that there are no human jobs that can't be replaced by software or artificial intelligence.
Though some theories suggest the massive "historical" layoffs in the tech ecosystem are because many tech companies overhired, especially during the pandemic.
Meta and many other global tech behemoths are all implicated in this recruitment rush. And we heard that people in these tech companies were literally doing nothing [imagine being employed to do nothing, just goofing around, sipping coffee, watching TV, chatting, visiting the museum, taking pictures, attending dumb meetings and going home at the end of the day.]
I read somewhere that you had to be hunting for work in one of these big tech companies. That's really funny. Imagine looking desperately for work to do. And at the end of the month, you get paid. That's sick.
Someone even commented that it was as if one of these big tech companies was deliberately over-hiring tech talents so that other companies could not recruit them [I feel feverish.]
Well, whatever it is. As for me, I feel these companies discovered AI and discovered that AI could do most of these works efficiently, so they decided to cut costs.
Instead of spending so much money on human beings, why don't we employ AI to do their jobs? They are easier to maintain, control and teach/instruct [presumably.]
And this replacement will continue for a long time.
The big tech guys are now preparing to enter the new age of AI. This implies that techies who have mastered handling AI will become the new superheroes of the "techverse" and so become prime targets of the big tech guys. Impressive.
Mark Zuckerberg, who was once over-enthusiastic about the Metaverse [he even changed his company's name], is now going slow on it due to pressure from investors and friends and the obvious--the world is not ready for the Metaverse.
Let AI simmer into the veins and arteries of society. Let people become used to it, and when it settles among us, you can start introducing the Metaverse.
It will be easier to assimilate the concept of the Metaverse into society if AI has merged with our culture.
So, Zuckerberg is now focusing on AI. Thank goodness he listens.
But What About Healthcare?
Holding on and cherishing our emotional capabilities is the beginning of our journey towards adapting and embracing artificial intelligence. - Ayinla Daniel.
Or do we feel those who work in the healthcare ecosystem are indispensable or untouchable when it comes to AI taking over their jobs?
AI can augment and support the work of healthcare professionals.
Like AI helping physicians write medical notes, obtain patients' medical history, and make medical diagnoses. AI may still be really far away when it comes to actively replacing healthcare professionals.
Medical and nursing care notes and communications are not entirely difficult to write.
Intelligent algorithms trained with massive language models and taught how to observe patients can write medical and nursing notes.
Sounds impossible? I don't think so. I can already see the possibility, and it's not sci-fi. This is reality. It's happening right before our eyes.
Talking about AI replacing healthcare professionals.
Let me be straight here.
The first set of healthcare professionals that may likely have more than 70% of their duties replaced by Artificial Intelligence is the physician, maybe not in developing African climes yet. But in advanced regions, we will witness AI taking over more than 70% of core Physician responsibility [no, it's not going to make the physician jobless; it will give them more time to attend to other duties that have emotional undertones and don't require them to go through the drudgery of looking at heaps of data and information.]
Talking about replacing physicians.
Physicians who refuse to adapt and adopt the new AI culture will be the ones who may finally get replaced over time.
"AI isn't necessarily about replacing doctors, but optimising and improving their abilities." —Abby Norman, Futurism.
If, at this present time, AI is already assisting physicians in surgery, and now, a couple of big Medtech behemoths are already pouring heavy billions into building autonomous surgical robots that will perform surgeries without the surgeon standing by "its" side— the guy may be sitting behind the glass, reading a Forbes paper, sipping coffee or playing a game. He will occasionally peep to ensure all is going fine and intervene if needed or emergency surfaces.
This may not happen next year, but I am confident that it can become a reality in about twenty or less, with the rate at which AI is advancing.
The first robot-assisted surgery took place more than 10 years ago in Montreal when the Da Vinci robotic surgery system operated by a surgeon was used to carry out a successful operation.
That's more than 10 years. Can you imagine how much progress they have made over the years?
"I see the value of AI today as augmenting humans, not as replacing humans,"
Skyler Place
Diagnosis Are Made From Data
Look at how a physician makes a diagnosis.
They follow a pattern guided by symptoms, signs, and history.
It's all data— recognising signs based on patterns. Asking the right questions to the ailing patient and narrowing it down until you hit the spot.
It's a pattern guided by the correct application of data. And intelligent algorithms will be able to conveniently do this soon.
There are already "closed research" that have experimented at length with AI diagnosing patients, and the outcomes have been out of the world.
In many cases, AI has even outperformed experienced doctors. Why? It's simple. It's all about data.
Machine Learning is all about how machines process data as humans do.
Are we not concerned about everything? Who will we be seeing when we get to the hospital in the future? "CHATGPT" or a human doctor who can connect at an emotional level.
Talking about emotions.
This might be where our beloved Artificial Intelligence has its weakness. It doesn't have the capacity to show "true" emotions emanating from a soul or a sentient being.
And the building block of trust is emotion.
So, as long as the secret about creating a soul is hidden from scientists, we rest assured that we are better than AI in that aspect.
Human beings can never be more intelligent than Artificial Intelligence. It's impossible.
You are not stronger than your average saloon car or even your bicycle.
Machines are better than us in many ways; our only advantage over AI is our humanity, which can never be replaced—our humanity consisting of our emotions, experiences, feelings, and memories. AI doesn't have all these.
You can't put these attributes in a line of code.
Then how do we adjust?
Adjusting To This Reality
"There is no reason and no way that a human mind can keep up with an artificial intelligence machine by 2035."
Gray Scott
As I wrote in an earlier paragraph, we can never be as smart as any AI algorithm, but what we have above AI is our emotional intelligence.
And "true" emotions can't be captured in codes--not the ones we read in text or see in an image or video [AI can mimic that.]
Holding on and cherishing our emotional capabilities is the beginning of our journey towards adapting and embracing artificial intelligence.
The same technology behind the atomic and hydrogen bombs can be utilised to benefit humanity.
This same analogy is applied to artificial intelligence.
If we all come together and ensure that we will commit to developing responsible AI, I don't think anyone should be concerned about it.
How can healthcare professionals adjust to this reality?
Here are some ideas I think will be helpful:
Artificial Intelligence Is A Tool, Learn To Use It: Learn, understand and master it. In the "not-so-distant" future, the professional who can utilise AI to be productive will win in the game of life. And the best time to learn how to use AI is now that it's still in its infancy. There are a lot of resources out there teaching people how to use AI to improve productivity. Start familiarising yourself with basic AI tools and gradually advance to more technical ones. You will stand out from the crowd.
It Has Its Limits: AI can't think about the future. The only thing it can do is predict from the data it has. But we can think about the future and have hope and faith, which AI can never have because it isn't sentient or conscious. This is the big advantage we have over it. We can communicate hope and faith to our patients. AI will never be able to do that. It may be able to crunch numbers and store more information. Still, it can never be as emotionally intelligent as the smallest human.
Strengthen Your Emotional Intelligent Quotient: Now that you have realised your emotion is your biggest asset, take deliberate steps to strengthen it. Artificial intelligence will teach humans how to adore their emotions; as more machines fill the street, emotional interactions between humans will be scarce. To stand out as healthcare professionals, preserving and strengthening our emotional intelligence is all that will matter. The hospital might be the only place in the "ADVANCED FUTURE" where people will feel the warmth of emotions outside their families.
Healthcare Ecosystems Should Start To Educate Healthcare Professionals On The Importance Of Artificial Intelligence: It will be easier for patients to adjust when healthcare professionals understand AI. Healthcare professionals can educate clients and patients on the role and importance of AI to their health--how AI can help them live healthier lives and augment the professional duties of doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals.
Healthcare Institutions And Systems Should Gradually Start To Invest In Artificial Intelligence: At the moment, it may be expensive to completely integrate AI infrastructures into the existing frameworks of most hospitals or healthcare institutions [especially in Africa]. However, they can start from the basics and keep doing micro-works pending when AI technologies become more accessible to implement across the board. The healthcare ecosystem in Africa may not have the financial ability to implement AI across its landscape. Still, we can start by diving into relevant research and gathering evidence, educating the community and society about the importance of AI, and supporting innovators and entrepreneurs utilising AI to solve major public health problems plaguing the continent.
Design AI Tools With The End-user In Mind: This is an essential "adjusting joint." When designing these technologies, we must know we are developing them for human beings. And when appropriately designed, people wouldn't even know they are interacting with AI. They won't be "AI Super-conscious." It makes them relaxed and ready to cooperate, especially in healthcare requiring the patient or client to trust the healthcare professional with their life and connect with them emotionally.
Concerns
Legal Grey Areas
Who will be responsible in the case of malpractice?
The robot, the healthcare professional, the hospital, or the company that designed the algorithm or robot?
This grey area needs to be addressed as soon as possible.
You can't hold a robot responsible for a medical mistake.
It's not aware.
It's only designed to follow a set of instructions.
Even if it's AI, there's still a lot of human control.
AI depends on humans to feed it with information.
Suppose humans feed AI with wrong and biased information. In that case, it will likely act according to the nature of the data it has been given. Then if it causes harm, who do you hold responsible?
Inheriting Our Biases
The field of AI is still dominated by white people. And the data sets used to train most AI systems today must be more diverse.
There have been reports where AI systems identified black people as monkeys. Why? Well, you can guess.
The output will be limited if the data used to train AI algorithms is narrow or limited. And AI can't even think. It's not sentient or aware, or conscious.
And in the healthcare ecosystem, where inclusion and diversity are most needed, how do we bridge this gap?
It all boils down to being responsible when designing AI systems for healthcare.
We must be deliberate to allow the principles of diversity and inclusion to guide us in designing AI systems/algorithms.
About The Digital Health Report By Carecode Digital Health Hub
Empowering healthcare professionals [especially in Africa] with digital health knowledge is a big part of our mission at Carecode Digital Health Hub.
We believe healthcare professionals should be at the forefront of the digital health revolution, not just engineers, investors and big players.
And they can only dominate the front if they can access the right knowledge.
The Digital Health Report strives to provide healthcare professionals with the right knowledge about trends in the digital health ecosystem.
Curated content, reports, news, analyses, and opinion articles by guest writers and our writers and editors, are featured in the Digital Health Report.
We currently organise a yearly digital health bootcamp for healthcare professionals who want to migrate into the tech ecosystem or obtain knowledge that will position them for the future of healthcare.
Preparation for this year's edition is underway, and we are working hard to ensure it's better than the last edition.
In addition, we are planning a series of webinars/virtual events on AI & Healthcare. We will talk about how AI is revolutionalising healthcare, the prospects, and how we can position ourselves to remain useful.
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Wow wow wow, this is really mind - blowing Boss, so educative, informative and inspiring, well done sir.
Awesome write up. This is a must-read for all health professionals who are keen about the subject of AI.