It is not surprising that we’re seeing an uptick in AI being used in the medical field, where even governments are backing such initiatives. There is good reason for this, because unlike humans, computers don’t get tired and they aren’t biased, which is why sometimes AI can help pick up on things doctors miss.
In fact a recent study has found that when a computer was pitted against human dermatologists, it actually performed better when it came to detecting skin cancer. The study found that the AI was able to pick up on 95% of melanomas versus 86.6% in dermatologists. The gap isn’t as big as you would think, but the fact that it was able to pick up on skin cancer close to 10% more than regular doctors, it could mean more lives are saved.
However to be fair, the study was conducted against only 58 dermatologists from around the world, with half being considered “experts” with more than 5 years of experience, while the other half consisted of dermatologists who had 2-5 years of experience, and those who were relatively fresh in the field with under 2 years of experience.
In addition to being able to detect melanomas better than doctors, it also performed fewer misdiagnosis which meant that it spared more patients unnecessary surgery. That being said, AI won’t be replacing doctors anytime soon and are instead meant to help augment treatments where like we said, it can help pick up on things a doctor could have missed.
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