Flipping the Script

This op-ed was written for an outlet run by and for health professionals, "Flipping the Script." In it, I argue that a pandemic-era surge in AI promises to automate fundamental tasks in medicine at the expense of healthcare workers. Hospitals have ramped up use of machine learning systems that can now do things like screen for skin cancer, monitor vital signs, and even detect diabetic retinopathy from digital images of the eye — no doctor required. My position is that healthcare workers are right to worry about AI-replaceable skills, but equally concerning is the way this tech devalues their irreplaceable ones.