Issue 31: Will Your Next Doctor Be a Robot?
Welcome to Backstory, a weekly newsletter turning global technology shifts into a three-minute read. This week is all about health care and technology. Does AI help or hurt medicine? The answer is below – Mary Ames, Director of Strategy
THE BIG TAKE
Will Your Next Doctor Be a Robot?
Forgive us for the ambitious headline but your next doctor won’t likely be a robot. But an advanced algorithm or blockchain could certainly be involved in upcoming health care experiences. Instead of robots replacing doctors, we will see artificial intelligence (AI) working alongside medical professionals. The idea is collaboration instead of domination, and the result is going to be better and cheaper health care around the world.
AI and you: The goal of current research at the intersection of medicine and technology is to augment the work of doctors with the best technology to improve their job. AI-powered algorithms are already able to calculate lab results and create statistical models that empower doctors with better information for their diagnoses. They do this by training on a set of data, rather than being programmed by humans. More data means better results.
A boon for emerging markets: By freeing up overworked doctors while reducing medical errors, the quality of medicine will improve. In countries like China, there is a major shortage of doctors, and so AI assistance can potentially save thousands of lives. Given the government’s embrace of blockchain to store records and even create state-backed digital currencies, China is a critical space to watch as the technology advances.
Potential hazards: AI advances in medicine are impossible without massive amounts of user data. And we know that data raises a host of questions about user privacy and patient rights. What’s needed is smart regulation that allows the industry to evolve while protecting innovation. Smaller countries with nimble legislation environments such as Estonia and the UAE can take the lead yet again in pioneering smart regulations for AI and medicine. This is the edge of a historic moment in which our medical records will be stored securely on blockchains and analysed by powerful algorithms. As long as the right safeguards are put in place and the public is made aware of the incredible transformations taking place, the global health care sector will rapidly impact millions for the better before our eyes.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“If I could time travel into the future, my first port of call would be the point where medical technology is at its best because, like most people on this planet, I have this aversion to dying.”
Neal Asher, writer
OUR VIEWS THIS WEEK
This should make you think: What happens when machine learning becomes really good? That’s the basic question unpacked by Havard professor of internet law Jonathan Zittrain in a recent article for the New Yorker. It’s a simple question that opens a pandora’s box of ethical dilemmas and questions for society. Chief among them is the issue of intellectual debt. In this piece from the archive, we explored the intersection of intellectual debt and our cognitive abilities.
Collaboration in tech: Sticking with the AI collaborative theme this week, we reviewed Singapore’s strategy for AI innovation in this piece from the archive. Instead of siloing its technology sector, Singapore wants to be an international hive of activity. The same approach is seen in the UAE’s knowledge ecosystem. At a time of global division, this path is a breath of fresh air.
SPOTTED ELSEWHERE
China and blockchain: China’s unfolding relationship to blockchain technology is fascinating to follow. This week China’s president, Xi Jinping, called on the nation to take a “leading position” in the development of blockchain technology. This spurred the Chinese central bank to start pushing local banks to review how blockchain can be used in local finance. We know a country that has embraced the power of blockchain to improve the public sector. Perhaps the Chinese leadership should come to Dubai for a visit and some tips.
Brushing up with AI: We love the strange and exciting new ways AI is improving our lives but we might have found the limit. A new toothbrush by Oral-B will use AI to tell you if you’re brushing correctly. Seriously? Most of us have been brushing our teeth long enough at this point to know what’s good and what’s bad. If you think you may need some extra help (and have $220 lying around), then perhaps this toothbrush will change your morning routine.