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For a very long time ATMs were suspicious to users. What if I asked for $40 and it only gives me $20? Why can't I get $23.45? I need to speak to a human because

For a very long time ATMs were suspicious to users. What if I asked for $40 and it only gives me $20? Why can't I get $23.45? I need to speak to a human because surely my (entirely commonplace) problem is unique enough that a machine can't handle it. What if I ask for a receipt and the machine has a bug that transfers my entire asset portfolio to the Netherlands?! There are plenty of social important and authority-dominated areas of our lives that have been taken over by technology. Health care can easily be one of them if we let it. It will go through the typical technology adoption curve, but going through it will happen nonetheless. And yes, people still prefer to interact with human professionals. When they know the costs of doing so, most choose a competent alternative, especially so for things the alternative is good enough at doing. It's the entire reason legalzoom and webmd exist. The real problem is that we are hell bent on obscuring the cost of health care and demanding way beyond our means.

grandalf 10y ago
I think those are good points, but very few health conditions lend themselves to a smart chatbot replacing a doctor. Things like preventative care would be much improved by AI, but that is not protected by licensing. So why hasn't it become more common? Largely because people don't really care about it. Health is viewed as being binary, and our system is geared to address severe trauma (via the ER) and routine surgeries (hip replacements, coronary bypass operations, etc.). Primary care is improving, but in our current landscape it's a gateway to the more scarce resources of specialists. Most people who see a primary care doctor regularly are far from healthy and the doctor deals with managing multiple complex disease processes and specialists. Yes, you could replace the primary care doc for a patient with ongoing heart disease, kidney disease, and mobility issues with an algorithm, but that's not the hard part.

grandalf 10y ago

I think those are good points, but very few health conditions lend themselves to a smart chatbot replacing a doctor. Things like preventative care would be much improved by AI, but that is not protected by licensing. So why hasn't it become more common? Largely because people don't really care about it. Health is viewed as being binary, and our system is geared to address severe trauma (via the ER) and routine surgeries (hip replacements, coronary bypass operations, etc.). Primary care is improving, but in our current landscape it's a gateway to the more scarce resources of specialists. Most people who see a primary care doctor regularly are far from healthy and the doctor deals with managing multiple complex disease processes and specialists. Yes, you could replace the primary care doc for a patient with ongoing heart disease, kidney disease, and mobility issues with an algorithm, but that's not the hard part.