Artificial Intelligence
Preparing the Healthcare Workforce for AI
In 1965, the U.S. Postal Service introduced optical character recognition (OCR) in a Baltimore post office, marking a turning point in technological adaptation. Apprehensive about job loss, the erosion of their skills, and the new system's reliability, workers...
Healthcare AI: Honoring Legacy and Trust
As Memorial Day passes, I pause to reflect on national service and personal legacy. My grandfather traveled to the U.S. as a teenager, fleeing tyranny in Eastern Europe. He joined the U.S. Army in World War I and fought in the trenches in France. His service allowed...
Preventing Misinformation from AI in Healthcare
On October 30, 1938, Orson Welles delivered one of the most consequential radio broadcasts in American history. His adaptation of War of the Worlds, presented as a series of simulated news bulletins, left listeners in a state of panic. Despite disclaimers and the...
Aligning Healthcare AI with Human Judgment and Ethics
In 1847, Hungarian physician Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis made a life-saving discovery: handwashing reduced maternal deaths during childbirth. Yet the medical establishment rejected his findings for decades. His evidence gained the respect it deserved only with the later...
Balancing Risk and Reward in Healthcare AI
In 1976, U.S. health officials launched an unprecedented national vaccination campaign against a newly identified swine flu strain at Fort Dix, New Jersey. Fearful of a pandemic, the federal government quickly vaccinated millions. However, the rapid deployment—driven...
Healthcare AI: Privacy and Cybersecurity
In 1928, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis famously defined privacy as "the right to be let alone." His warning arose during a time when wiretaps threatened the sanctity of private conversations. Nearly a century later, Brandeis's concerns have only...
AI’s Impact on Healthcare Jobs
In 1785, Edmund Cartwright introduced the power loom, a revolutionary invention that mechanized textile production. At first, skilled weavers fiercely resisted the change, fearing for their livelihoods. Yet by 1850, the mechanization Cartwright initiated had created...
AI and the Future Economics of Patient Care
In 1913, Henry Ford changed the world. By introducing the moving assembly line at Ford Motor Company, he slashed production time for the Model T from 12 hours to just 93 minutes. Ford's innovation made automobiles affordable for ordinary Americans and revolutionized...
Can AI Make Healthcare Safer and More Reliable?
In 1904, Dr. Ernest Amory Codman began advocating for a radical idea: healthcare institutions should track every patient's outcome to understand whether treatments were successful. His “End Result System” was the first structured attempt to evaluate healthcare...