> How does machine learning help the cultural problem? I think you're right that it is a cultural problem. In the US, the end-of-life decision lies in the hand

> How does machine learning help the cultural problem? I think you're right that it is a cultural problem. In the US, the end-of-life decision lies in the hands of the patient's care givers, putting them in mental pain of "did I do the right thing" for years later. I believe this isn't the case in UK/France where the docs advise on the matter, relieving the care givers of said agony.[1] It's a mixed bag in India. Since we're talking about a system that predicts end of life, what if we replace it with a game of "let's play life toss" - where heads is a survival prediction and tails isn't, so that both doctors and care givers can have a discussion about either scenario. Would that serve the same purpose as the "AI"? If the AI's purpose is to be studied, something like this game might need to be a control. I'm far from dystopian on this as we already use technology for various aids in the care process - declaring coma patients "unconscious", "flat lining" as indicative of death and such. What I do have a problem with is declaring a data fitting function to be an "AI" instead of just saying "statistically there is a 90% chance of death within the next 7 months" or something more straight forward like that. However complicated that function is, the fact that it is only derived from EHR data doesn't make it an "AI" for additional creds. The system must at least be able to evaluate a number of scenarios it hasn't seen and map out their outcomes to even begin to be considered for qualification ... like a game playing engine. [1]: https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/01/world/europe/french-families-challenge-doctors-on-wrenching-end-of-life-decisions-medicalized-hospital-deaths.html https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/01/world/europe/french-famil... ''' “I told them, ‘Hold on, it’s not you making the decision — it’s me,’ ” said Dr. Kariger. “Free yourselves of any feeling of guilt.” ''' Relevant tweet on technology ethics - https://twitter.com/fox/status/948052707830460416 https://twitter.com/fox/status/948052707830460416 PS: A relative of mine helps terminal cancer patients come to terms with their death. The mental journeys are multi-dimensionally diverse from what I hear.