IP1

I just watched the PBS news video "Why we're teaching computers to treat cancer". This was a fascinating video in how far artificial intelligence (AI) has come! In this video they talked about a AI system known as Watson. When given data in regards to a patient, in return, it can diagnose and provide possible treatments based on the given data. Granted, this is what doctors are suppose to do, but even the smallest detail can be the key to someone's illness that may be overlooked. I'd imagine pulling all the data together to confirm a diagnosis from the thousands that are out there, would be very time consuming and difficult for a doctor. Watson can pull this info in a matter of seconds! Watson can also validate why this info was selected with recent publications and studies that the doctor may not have heard of!

AI such as Watson is important to my field of study of health care by being a great resource. It appears to be a concise and fast-acting tool. It can pull up info a doctor may have overlooked or may not have even considered in just a matter of seconds. Sometimes in the medical field, a matter of seconds is all one's got! But for the patients who have longer than a few seconds, Watson provides information a doctor can mull over, consider, and weigh out the options. I feel like AI such as Watson makes a good contribution to the healthcare field by being a resource to turn to and that's that.

I feel as though if AI gets too incorporated into the healthcare field it will be detrimental to doctors by becoming a crutch. If that becomes the case, then why bother having doctors in the first place? We will no longer need human's to diagnose and treat us, we can just type our signs and symptoms into a computer and get the diagnosis and treatment ourselves. At that level, what's the point of having a doctor punch in my signs and symptoms into a computer? I can do that myself. It's just a program right? Why would anyone pay someone to punch a few keys for them? Then what would become of the medical profession? If doctors can rely on Watson to come up with the diagnoses, treatment, plan of care, what is THEIR job? We will still need nurses and other healthcare teammates to see through the plan of care and treatment, but if a computer system can do the doctors' job for them, why have doctors?

Finally, I feel if AI systems such as Watson were to become a norm in the healthcare field, it would take away from that doctor/patient relationship. I do not feel as though doctors would give much thought and consideration to a patient and their wellbeing. If I were a doctor, I would see it more fulfilling to be able to figure out what is wrong with someone, recommend treatment, and watch them get better. I would take great concern about the individual and their wellbeing. With AI like Watson, I feel like that "concern" and "feeling" would become diminished and the doctor wouldn't give much thought to the patient because "Watson say's it's this and treat it with this. Be on your merry way. Get better!". And as a patient I would feel neglected knowing a computer system is what is helping me get better and not the doctor. Not only would I feel neglected, I would feel pissed off! Why am I paying you to punch a few keys to have something else do YOUR job? I can do that myself. Why do you get paid more than I do when you have something else doing YOUR job?

As a resource, I feel as though AI systems such as Watson could be of great value. Watson has access to a wide array of knowledge that the human brain cannot possible concur. It can pull up info in a matter of seconds and provide info one may not have considered. But I feel as though Watson should be just a resource in the healthcare field. If it gets too incorporated, it will become a crutch that could possibly be detrimental to the field, to particular professions, and most importantly, the patient.

If anyone is interested in watching this news video, I have included the link to it which was originally provided by Dr. Chung and Timothy James on our course site.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/teaching-computers-diagnose-cancer/