I'm a 5th year radiology resident with undergraduate and master's degrees in computer science...and currently on a mammography rotation. A couple background fa

I'm a 5th year radiology resident with undergraduate and master's degrees in computer science...and currently on a mammography rotation. A couple background facts: 1. Mammographer subspecialist salaries are now the highest of any radiologist (median ~$440K) - https://www.auntminnie.com/index.aspx?sec=ser&sub=def&pag=dis&ItemID=128314 https://www.auntminnie.com/index.aspx?sec=ser&sub=def&pag=di... 2. Mammography is one of the easier fellowships to undertake and is "lifestyle-friendly" overall (no call as an attending!) 3. Mammographers are highly in-demand, even in desirable locations. So it's (relatively) easy, very well-paid, and you can live where you want. What's the catch? Well... 1. Mammographers are the most likely to be sued. Missing a mammographic diagnosis of breast cancer is the #2 reason for medical litigation, with some sources citing up to 10% of radiologists per year being named in a mammography litigation case. See: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3138733/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3138733/ and https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22596034/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22596034/ 2. Mammographers directly interact with patients to relay findings and biopsy lesions, and they must collaborate with referring providers and pathologists. Breast cancer is a highly emotional topic in the United States due to a combination of public personas ('Angelina Jolie effect') and political maneuvering (see the history of the federal Mammography Quality Standards Act and Program - MQSA). You can't be a "behind the scenes, in the dark" radiologist if you go into mammography. From a computer science perspective, I one-hundred-percent agree that mammography is a "solvable" problem by AI. Standardization of mammography images (CC and MLO screening views) alongside BI-RADS makes for an amazingly well-labeled dataset. I fully expect AI to surpass the abilities of one-or-more mammographers in the near future. And yet, amongst radiologists, mammographers are the least likely to be replaced. Why? For the same reason mammography is lucrative to begin with - Litigation, emotional patient-doctor interactions, and the social/political climate. Any one of these is a steep hill by itself. Most AI companies want none of the legal risk, and practically zero of them offer patient-facing results. And, I wonder if any of the AI startups have considered hiring a celebrity as their spokeperson. Perhaps politics/legislation might work in favor of AI if it becomes standard of care, but I wouldn't want to bank my startup on a federal regulatory change.