Is AI in Healthcare a Good Idea?
By Leon Zheng
Global healthcare systems are facing increasing difficulties. The pandemic has brought widespread attention to disparities in access to care and shortages in the healthcare sector. Moreover, World Health Organization researchers have projected that by 2030, there will be 10 million fewer healthcare workers globally, with notable variations in poorer areas, where there will be 5 million fewer doctors than society needs.
The implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare is capable of addressing these challenges. Tech giants like Google, Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft see tremendous financial potential in the healthcare industry. These corporations are redefining healthcare by playing to their strengths. According to the Google AI website, “we think that AI is poised to transform medicine, delivering new, assistive technologies that will empower doctors to serve their patients better. Machine learning has various possible application areas, but healthcare stands out as a remarkable opportunity to benefit people.” Google views the future of healthcare through the lens of AI and machine learning, allowing for the better interpretation of health data. This is very comprehensible, given AI is significantly more adept than humans in learning from and identifying patterns in massive multimodal datasets. For example, a task that would take humans hours to complete can be completed by AI in minutes; AI can turn a patient’s complete medical history and way of life into a single diagnosis number. Moreover, as more data becomes available, AI systems will improve in adapting and learning.
In addition, physical robots in factories or warehouses carry out predetermined duties like lifting or assembling goods. More recently, robots have started collaborating with humans and have developed greater intelligence. Surgeons are provided with surgical robots, which are already authorized in the USA. Surgical robots primarily repair wounds and make accurate, less invasive incisions. Previously unreachable locations can now be reached with robotic devices, resulting in less pain, shortened hospital stays, and decreased bleeding.
The integration of AI into healthcare industries around the world is promising for addressing these issues within the healthcare industry. Big tech corporations employ creative solutions because they see healthcare as a profitable commercial opportunity. As demonstrated by Google’s vision of AI-driven healthcare, AI’s capacity to evaluate enormous amounts of health data holds the potential to revolutionize medical diagnosis and treatment. Furthermore, improvements in robots, especially in the field of surgery, can improve patient outcomes and surgical precision. Embracing these technological advancements offers hope for overcoming the deficiencies and complexities faced by healthcare systems worldwide.
Works Cited
Bajwa, Junaid, et al. “Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare: Transforming the Practice of Medicine.” Future Healthc J, vol. 8, no. 2, July 2021, pp. e188–94. www.rcpjournals.org, https://doi.org/10.7861/fhj.2021-0095.
Curry, Rachel. “The A.I. Revolution in Health Care Is Coming.” CNBC, 12 July 2023, https://www.cnbc.com/2023/07/12/the-ai-revolution-in-health-care-is-coming.html.
Education, I. B. M. “The Benefits of AI in Healthcare.” IBM Blog, 11 July 2023, https://www.ibm.com/blog/the-benefits-of-ai-in-healthcare/.
“Google Health AI.” Google AI, https://ai.google/discover/healthai/. Accessed 25 Mar. 2024.
Health Workforce. https://www.who.int/health-topics/health-workforce. Accessed 24 Mar. 2024.
“How the ‘Big 4’ Tech Companies Are Leading Healthcare Innovation.” Healthcare Weekly, 27 Feb. 2019, https://healthcareweekly.com/how-the-big-4-tech-companies-are-leading-healthcare-innovation/.
