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True story. A friend was having abdominal pain. They were avoiding seeking medical help, thinking it would pass. The health service is overstretched in our coun
by hn_throw2025 10mo ago
True story. A friend was having abdominal pain. They were avoiding seeking medical help, thinking it would pass. The health service is overstretched in our country, and GP appointments can take time. I couldn’t help wondering if it was something more serious, like appendicitis. I discussed their symptoms with a LLM which said it sounds very much like appendicitis, that they should go to the ER immediately, and that they should bring a bag because they would likely be admitted and surgery would follow ASAP.
Guess what happened.
- ndsipa_pomu 10mo agoYou can diagnose appendicitis using boring old internet searches. As I remember, loss of appetite and the pain moving over time are key.
- hn_throw2025 10mo agoBoring old internet searches wouldn’t have taken in the specifics I supplied. And they mostly just come to a conclusion, rather than actionable advice I was able to pass on, like take a bag and avoid eating because they might want to operate soon.
- ndsipa_pomu 10mo agoThey're much less likely to be hallucinated falsehoods though
- andrepd 10mo agoHey look, a reference website written by professionals has all the information you need, with no hallucinated falsehoods which are indistinguishable from the point of view of a non-specialist https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/appendicitis/ https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/appendicitis/ But it's 2025, so old fashioned.