Regina Barzilay, a professor of electrical engineering and computer science at MIT, developed an AI-based system for early detection of breast cancer after her own delayed diagnosis. She told Greater Boston she is concerned with how little AI is being used in clinical settings.
“A lot of the public discourse focuses on the dangers rather than focusing on the opportunities in identifying the safe spaces where we can already can use AI,” said Barzilay.
According to a study, about 12 million people are misdiagnosed each year in the U.S. Barzilay said the chatbot could support medical staff in preventing these type of human errors.
AI won’t replace doctors, she said. “Doctors will be replaced by doctors who leverage AI to make themselves more efficient and more accurate," said Dr. Marc Succi, associate chair of Innovation & Commercialization at Mass General Brigham Radiology.
Primary care doctors are overburdened with paperwork and administrative tasks. Dr. Succi said the AI chatbot could write insurance appeal letters and pull billing codes from patients’ notes, allowing doctors to spend more time with patients, which would result in increased patient wellness.
While Barzilay said studies in a hospital environment are needed to gauge how it can improve a doctor’s performance, she is optimistic that the tool will make a positive impact.
Watch: Is AI the future of medicine? Two leaders in the field weigh in
