Being a doctor is one of the jobs expected to be least at risk from AI replacement. But a new program launched in Utah is raising questions over that assumption. A healthcare startup will begin offering AI examinations and prescriptions to patients without direct human oversight, making Utah the first state to replace a doctor with an AI.
The good news is that the program is currently very limited in its scope. It’s just one year long and only for patients with mild-to-moderate acne.
The process works when a person signs up for Nolla Health’s $4.99-per-month app and uses it to scan their face. After completing a medical history and personal information form, the AI analyzes their skin, identifies the acne problem, rates the skin’s oiliness, and then generates a numerical acne severity score that ranges between clear skin and severe acne, reports Bloomberg.
Well that sounds like it couldn’t go horribly wrong. /s
I wonder how it got through the FDA who for better or worse tend to take donkey’s years with this sort of thing?
Using legit clinical computer vision models for this (ie not putting your symptoms into fucking chatgpt) isn’t a horrible idea if it’s been demonstrated safe and effective by clinical trials, but it’s kind of wild there’s no human oversight from clinicians. From what I understand, ance medication can produce some unpleasant side effects. I’d be curious to know how they dealt with those risks.