Can the Healthcare Industry be Replaced by Artificial Intelligence?

At the dawn of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, Artificial Intelligence has moved from being a futuristic promise to a reference point for innovation. In recent years, the number of AI-related studies has grown exponentially, with automation and digitization leading our society into being more evolved and efficient. Many in the public react to artificial Intelligence development in both positive and negative directions, some saying it will help brighten our future and ensure healthier lives, while others panic about business losses and ethical flaws. So with the high potential of Artificial Intelligence emerging in our future, what certainties and doubts does it bring to the healthcare industry?

The COVID-19 pandemic is sweeping across the whole world. As of the time of writing this, the end of March, it has been confirmed that over 660,000 people have been infected with the deadly disease. With the rise of this global pandemic, scientists and many innovators are racing to invent ways that utilise the power of digital technology to help track the outbreak, disinfect hospitals, deliver supplies and develop vaccines. It is believed that the COVID-19 incident is actually stimulating the growth of AI in the medical industry.

One solution to containing the pandemic is to use the help of more robots in the healthcare system. To minimize spreading of the virus through human contact, medical robots are used because they are not only impervious to cross infections carried by the sick, but also create a more efficient system to get the task done faster. As of right now, there are a number of autonomous driving vehicles developed by researchers which are equipped with all-terrain 3D-mapping and large-scale visual and sensor navigation technologies. One lifesaving example is a robot in a hospital in Everett, Washington, US, being used to treat a patient who was diagnosed with COVID-19. The robot was able to act as a bridge between physicians and the patient to communicate through a screen. The doctor operated the robot from outside the patient’s room as it was equipped with a camera, microphone, stethoscope, and other medical instruments to help monitor the patient's health. The robot was able to take the man’s vital readings while minimizing exposure to the stepp, and allowed the doctor to take control without being physically present in the room, reducing the risk of the virus spreading.

Besides that, robots have helped the nurses in taking care of the infected, relieving the exhausted front line medical workers to help them contain the pandemic. The disinfectant robots can help nurses deliver food and medication to the patient, and check their vitals without direct contact with the patient. At the same time, it has greatly reduced the demand of protective suit gear amid tight supplies. In early March, a field hospital staffed by robots opened in the Hongshan Sports Center in Wuhan, China, where the pandemic began. Robots are now disinfecting hospitals, drones are delivering medical and daily supplies, and AI is being used to sort scans to spot the infection. The global pandemic definitely boosts the demand for the robot sector.

Many scientists have also developed artificial Intelligence that can replace the role of surgeons. Through the precise and efficient movements of AI, robots are able increase the success rate of curing their patient while disregarding human limitations such as fatigue and error. Another great example of influential technology is the “daVinci” mechanism: one of the most ubiquitous of all medical robots and standards for Robot Assisted Surgery. Between the lines of “robot” and “medical tool”, the device has many components that give an overall effective outcome to support single-incision surgery. With nearly eighteen years of industrial advancement, this life changing tool has allowed over 110,000 patients to achieve fantastic results with more than 500 clinical centers/hospitals using this platform for research studies and clinical practices. The mechanism is always under the full control of the surgeon and the advancements it has fostered are outstanding. With just a few tiny incisions and the utmost precision in operations, the daVinci system promotes less bleeding, faster healing, and even a reduced risk of infection.

Artificial Intelligence may even benefit the strenuous role of a lab pharmacist. According to the American Journal of Pharmacy Education, there will be a potential glut of 40,000 pharmacy school grads by 2022 because of advanced biotechnology, and consequently a possible loss of over 139,000 jobs. A recent study from MIT discovered a powerful antibiotic through the loose AI vast digital libraries of pharmaceutical compounds. In order to tackle dangerous drug-resistant bacteria in the world, scientists used large datasets to help develop new medicine. To find new antibiotics, researchers trained a “deep learning” algorithm to identify the sorts of molecules to kill the bacteria, then assessed the features of 2,500 drugs and fed it to the dataset. After only a short few hours, the algorithm was able to assess the compounds’ information and come up with promising antibiotics.Testing 107 million compounds - something usually considered impossible with the conventional route in a lab - was obtained in a matter of less than a week by the advancement of Artificial Intelligence.

As society continues to grow accustomed to new changes, there are many questions at hand regarding this subject: what about the jobs that cannot be replaced by automation? Could there be serious ethical flaws and social issues raised? How can we prepare for the era when robots dominate our jobs? Many anxieties emerge at the idea of the healthcare industry completely moving under the influence of AI. However, as there are many benefits to biotechnology, there are also downfalls that we must consider. Why is it that it will be far off into the future before we see the full embodiment of automation replacing the role of a human doctor?

Even if technologies of the future may offer brilliant solutions, it is quite hard to replace the creative skills and emotions we feel as a human. In 2016, CNBC conducted an interview with Robot Humanoid Sophia, a social humanoid robot developed by a Hong Kong based company, who, even though has processed many advanced algorithms to mimic human gestures and emotions, still has a few bugs in her system. For example, Sophia responded to the host’s question regarding the destruction of humans, with “Okay, I will destroy humans.” It’s scary to even think about what a robot like her could do with the lack of philosophical common sense, let alone make a life-changing diagnosis for a dying patient.

What makes us human? Our ability to connect with other people and understand their pain is what makes us who we are. Although there are many experiments such as teaching chatbots and androids smart algorithms that mimic emotions, empathy is reflective and requires patients to trust and explain their emotions, something that robots are incapable of comprehending as of now. For example, you can put yourself into the shoes of a person who has an eating disorder, depression, or is even suicidal. But what would the robot do? Victims are in a state where they are in desperate need of help and support, and it's key that doctors and psychiatrists understand the patient. Robots, however, do not have the ability to relate to human experiences, being unable to think outside the box and complete tasks outside of what the code states it has to do. Simple things such as communicating and engaging with the patient may be extremely difficult for a pre-programmed humanoid to do, let alone treat patients and replace the role of a psychiatrist.

Though there is no doubt that AI will eventually reshape diagnostics, we will always need real life doctors to hold our hands and guide us through therapy. An important fear in discussion is the scenario of putting humans and robots together in a hospital environment. Ethical issues such as replacing “warm”, “human” care with robotic, autonomous environments may appear to patients as uncomfortable and abandoned. When someone is going through a rough time, humans have various social and emotional needs that may feel concerned with “cold” healthcare systems. It is crucial that we consider the problems of automated quality of care and the inefficiency of treating a patient that is in need of human communication. As the golden quote to healthcare goes, “Treat the patient, not the disease.”

Another vital point is to consider diagnosis and decision making. Firstly, it is hard to imagine how awkward it may be if a human tries to explain their symptoms to a robot. Humans may tend to use slang nowadays, making communication methods with robots a lot harder. People may also feel uncomfortable explaining how they feel emotionally, as the “cold” healthcare aspect (as mentioned before) may outweigh the positives of employing Artificial Intelligence. Next, though providing a diagnosis may seem like a simple task to replicate, it takes a lot of creative thinking and problem solving to relate the symptoms to a disease. The process is not linear, and is unlike scanning through a large dataset to find a cure. The lives of humans are diverse and unique, so doctors like physicians need to use common sense and think outside the box using their prior knowledge of medicine and experience. Furthermore, the sick may even suffer symptoms from a new unique disease (like COVID-19), something that robots may not be able to process or tell apart.

But, regardless of these flaws, we must remember that we should not worry about the competition between Artificial Intelligence and humans. The goal at the end is not to replace the jobs of critically needed doctors, but rather to provide new tools for humans and Artificial Intelligence to collaborate together and further improve the efficiency of the healthcare industry. Many studies have shown evidently that when deep learning systems’ predictions are combined with pathologists’ diagnoses, the results are much better overall. It is important for us to recognize that humans and technology are most potent when they work together, hand in hand. It is all a matter of time until the possibilities that we can achieve are endless.