Threat or formidable opportunity? When it comes to artificial intelligence there is the risk of swaying dangerously between the extremes, especially if knowledge is not optimal. Certainly there is that health transformations, both in clinical and scientific terms and under the organizational aspect, will not be able to exhate from algorithms and intelligent models.
This was confirmed by the experts present in recent days in Rome for an international conference organized by Fondazione Menarini, in collaboration with Gemelli Isola-Isola Tiberina Hospital, University of Central Florida College of Medicine, Sovaris Ai and The Foundation for Gender-Specific Medicine.
What research propose
From experts, who have analyzed the technological innovations that are transforming clinical practice and health research, a positive evaluation comes substantially. Provided, of course, that the development of AI applications is ruled by doctors, and not vice versa. In short. We must not see artificial intelligence as a threat that, in the future, will be able to replace the doctors themselves.
“Research suggests the opposite: it will not be artificial intelligence to replace specialists, but it will be the specialists who know how to make use of the potential of artificial intelligence, to replace those who will not be able to exploit the advantages of this tool”
This is the comment of Stefano Del Prato, president of Fondazione Menarini.
Privilege the human aspect
The medical-patient relationship, in some way, must remain such. Nor can it be thought that suddenly a machine, however intelligent, can replace the human being. This is a firm point to remember.
Because the human aspects of assistance, including empathy, compassion, critical thinking and complex decision -making process, are essential to provide a patient’s holistic taking charge that goes beyond diagnosis and therapeutic decisions and this cannot be replaced by AI.
“Artificial intelligence will instead strengthen medical practice, allowing specialists to exploit technology to improve, not only clinical assistance, but also the continuous training of doctors and students, changing the way you teach and learn the health profession”
The Prato continues.
“Not only that. Among other potential advantages of AI, also the possibility of making medicine safer, reducing delays in the diagnosis and possible errors in the search for effective care. Furthermore, the AI can lighten the administrative workload of doctors, often cited as a cause of burnout, leaving more time to establish a clearer and more effective dialogue with patients”.
What artificial intelligence can offer today
Think only of the world of images and diagnostics. Not a day passes that a research is not published capable of explaining how much and how the AI systems can affect the path of recognition of a pathological picture and on the future trend of the disease. The systems, already today, are already able to analyze in detail huge quantities of medical images: from ECG, radiographs, computerized tomographs, to magnetic resonances. All with a precision comparable or higher than that of human interpretation, identifying subtle anomalies, which could escape the eye of the most experienced clinician, thus supporting the doctor in faster and more precise diagnosis.
In addition, artificial intelligence provides the foundations for a personalized medicine by exploiting advanced algorithms capable of processing and integrating genetic profile, biomarkers, interaction with the environment and clinical history of the individual patient to identify customized treatments, maximizing therapeutic efficacy and minimizing side effects.
“Artificial intelligence does not concern a single specialty but embraces all branches of medicine, from cardiology to diabetology, to pneumology. But it is pushing even forward, towards new frontiers: the development of digital twins (Digital Twins), the development of high -capacity networks will be able to offer the integration of the various specialties in a precision but holistic vision as well as allowing simulations of complex interventions, of predictive systems for managing systems for management for management systems for management. of epidemics and pandemics and the development of autonomous surgical robots “
underlines the Prato.
Attention to ethics and privacy
Obviously, to understand how much and how the use and future spaces of AI will be able to affect the systems and health of people, it is necessary to define the contours of ethical and regulatory problems well. Only in this way is the health professional who uses these innovations can make artificial intelligence a conscious and responsible use.
“Data privacy represents a primary concern: artificial intelligence algorithms require enormous quantities of health data to be effective, raising questions about the protection of patient information”
Comment of the Prato.
“A further element of reflection concerns decision -making autonomy and professional liability. When an artificial intelligence system suggests a diagnosis or treatment, who is responsible for the consequences? How much should decision -making autonomy be granted to these systems? Often perceived as” black boxes “, they are difficult to interpret also for the same experts. This makes it complex to establish responsibilities in the event of clinical error and can undermine the patient’s trust towards digital technologies. It is therefore essential that explainable and understandable models are developed, capable of making clear the criteria that lead to a diagnosis or a therapeutic recommendation “.
Tailor -made training
A precise reality emerges from the conference. The adoption of artificial intelligence and its integration into health systems also requires a profound rethinking of clinical work flows and the training of health personnel. Effective strategies are needed to integrate these technologies into daily practice by overcoming organizational resistances and cultural barriers, with particular attention to the quality and validity of the databases on which artificial intelligence algorithms are based, a fundamental element to guarantee the reliability of the conclusions and recommendations generated, but also to combat disinformation.
In short: let’s talk about ai friend. According to experts, the era of artificial intelligence does not reduce the role of the doctor, but redefines it.
“Alongside traditional clinical skills, the ability to critically interpret the results provided by algorithms will be increasingly important, integrating them into a wider decision -making framework that takes into account the history, individual conditions and needs of the patient. The health professional will have to develop digital, ethical and communicative skills that allow him to govern technology without being dominated by it, reaffirming his role as a guarantor of equity, responsibility and humanity. medical. in other words, the same medical training must be rethought to prepare what the doctor’s doctor will be “
concludes Del Prato.
