Chatbots’ ease of use and ability to rapidly create human-like text, including everything from reports, essays, and recipes to computer code, ensure that the AI revolution will be a powerful tool for students at every level to improve their capabilities and expertise. The list of apps and services is growing longer every day. But, like most powerful technologies, the use of chatbots offers challenges as well as opportunities. We need strategies to minimize the former and accentuate the latter.
artificial intelligence
It is increasingly clear that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is going to transform our lives in myriad ways, from weather prediction to military planning and in innumerable medical applications. I recently encountered first-hand a new, significant advance – the use of AI to improve the detection of lesions during colonoscopies.
Chatbots – trainable software applications capable of conducting intelligent, informed conversations with users – have tremendous potential for vast societal benefits but also tremendous mischief. We are at the earliest stage of the learning curve.
Another view of peer review
Automating the lawyers
As I grow old, I jettison the unnecessary
Sleep is not just for humans and other living creatures
Once, a long time ago, it seems, individuals used rules-of-thumb, fancy name heuristics to navigate transactions – social or commercial. As the scale of our interactions grew, rules-of-thumb gave way to algorithms, which were, in turn, unleashed to create new algorithms based upon artificial intelligence. Somewhere along the way, those artificially intelligent algorithms became dangerous. What is high-risk artificial intelligence? Spoiler alert – it is already upon us – welcome to our version of Skynet.
While most medical reports on artificial intelligence algorithms note how well they perform against clinical judgment, lawyers focus on the prize. Who is liable for the bad outcome, the physician or the algorithm? It makes a difference in trying to get money from deep or deeper pockets.
Until a few moments ago, I, too, had been a victim of "tl,dr." In fact, I had the disease but did not know its name. Tl,dr is an acronym to “Too long, didn’t read.” Admit it, you have suffered from the same malady, but help is on the way.
If artificial intelligence can replace some highly specialized medical doctors, is any job safe? It appears the biomedical profession is ripe for an overhaul.
As we grow more and more dependent on electronic devices to minimize even the smallest amount of physical effort, it cannot be terribly surprising that pampered Americans are turning to Alexa-controlled devices. Why? So they can become even lazier. And now Alexa has invaded the bathroom. There are even smart toilets and they listen. What could possibly go wrong?
Just like airplanes, surgeons' on-time performance can improve patient outcomes. Can scheduling by algorithm make the operating room more efficient?
Can a predictive algorithm or electronic messaging improve outcomes for patients with acute kidney injuries? Potentially, yes. But practically, not yet.
We've been recently reminded of one of the most significant false-positives in U.S. history, the erroneous notification to Hawaii's citizens about the "imminent attack" of ballistic missiles. When it comes to medical care, while false positives also have harmful effects on patients and practitioners, the advances in artificial intelligence may be worsening the practice of patient care.