Shift From Artificial to Augmented Intelligence May Help Promote Greater Health Equity

Dr. Art Papier, CEO of VisualDx and associate professor of dermatology at the University of Rochester in New York, in an interview with healthcare IT news called for a shift from artificial intelligence to augmented reality. This shift, according to Dr Papier, is key to providing clinicians with reliable and equitable resources that augment decision-making, overcome knowledge gaps and promote greater health equity.

No software is infallible, and no single artificial intelligence can accurately diagnose conditions across all medical specialties. Instead of relying on the assumption that AI is infallible and error-free. Clinicians are advised to augment AI with their expertise to make the best use of AI technology.

According to Dr. Papier, “As these tools are created, it is unrealistic to think one will be introduced and can make accurate diagnoses across all of medicine. The industry must ensure that medical professionals know which narrow domains are covered within this technology and to what degree of accuracy”.

In addition, most retrospectively collected images of AI technology are not representative of the patients they would be applied to. There is a need for the datasets to reflect the intended population where the algorithm will be employed. Data sets that are too narrow can worsen racial disparities, which in turn may worsen outcomes for an already marginalized population.  To avoid too narrow datasets, there is a need for a thorough and purposeful collection and identification process to ensure that the training sets are diverse and representative of the entire patient population being treated.

SOURCE:  HealthcareITNews