Since the dawn of the computer age in the 1950s, scientists and developers have seen the potential for not only computer-aided calculations, but for aided decision making as well. Artificial intelligence (AI), with its link between computer science and psychology, was born at Dartmouth University (then Dartmouth College) in 1956. By the late 1970s, the notion of "expert systems," which would accumulate knowledge and use it to make intelligent decisions, had become a common and accepted idea.
As research and development of such systems moved from university campuses to firms in the fast-growing technology industry, the applications of expert systems changed as well. Firms focused on developing systems for internal use rather than for use in society. The result has been expert systems assisting a wide array of industries such as oil and gas, financial management, and manufacturing. Expert systems have not been so easily applied or accepted in the field of medicine, however.
Many logistical factors have contributed to the slower adoption of expert systems in medicine, however there are also psychological, social, and ethical factors at work as well. Psychologically, is a patient more likely to trust the decision making of a flesh-and-blood physician or that of an expert system programmed to search its "knowledge bank" for causal and associational relationships to describe what a patient is facing? Socially, there are dilemma's because a doctor's care for a patient goes far beyond simply diagnosing them. The emotional effects on recovery as a result of a doctor's care throughout the diagnosis and treatment process are well documented. If expert systems were to replace a doctor's care in the diagnosis of diseases, could it have lasting effects on the relationship and recovery process? Ethically, as technology continues to develop, how much is too much when it comes to artificial intelligence in healthcare? Could human doctor's eventually become completely dispensable?
These are all questions that bear answering, preferably sooner than later.
Goleman, Daniel. Emotional Intelligence. 3rd. New York, New York: Bantam Dell, 2005. 164-185. Print.
Shortliffe, Edward. "Medical Expert Systems - Knowledge Tools for Physicians." Western Journal of Medicine. 145.6 (1986): 830-839. Web. 4 Mar. 2013. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1307157/>.
These are all questions that bear answering, preferably sooner than later.
Goleman, Daniel. Emotional Intelligence. 3rd. New York, New York: Bantam Dell, 2005. 164-185. Print.
Shortliffe, Edward. "Medical Expert Systems - Knowledge Tools for Physicians." Western Journal of Medicine. 145.6 (1986): 830-839. Web. 4 Mar. 2013. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1307157/>.
I do not think that human doctors could ever become completely dispensable. I think this technology can be a great tool for speeding up process time and giving the doctors a starting point. But the ultimate decision should and will always be from the flesh-and-blood doctor.
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