For simple things, if an AI (combined with blood tests) can do what the doctor can do, then technically I don't need the doctor. I also don't need the friction that comes in working with a doctor, considering the AI is close to frictionless.
I feel like this bit is more of a problem than many folks realize. I know that people see "frictionless" as a desirable trait, but for many of the things folks are using AI for these days, you're gonna want "push-back" sometimes. Especially in cases of health care and computer programming, there are times when the user is straight-up wrong about what they're trying to do, say, or believe, and the last thing you wanna hear when your life or job or the lives or jobs of others are on the line and you're about to make a huge mistake is "You're absolutely right! Let me get right on doing that for you!"
That’s the goal for doctors too. It would be great to get simple things off the system.
But I think the more realistic intermediate step is a trained person cheaper than a doctor - nurse, PA, etc - aided by AI. The current generation of agentic AI doesn’t seem to be there yet and is too agreeable from RL.
“you’re probably fine sleep it off combined with: drink more water, eat healthier, exercise more, sleep better, consume less alcohol and quit smoking/vaping” +/- “we’ll check some labs to make sure” is the correct answer for probably 95%+ of encounters so it’s not hard for an automated system to handle most simple things, even without AI.
See https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/this-state-is-testing...
Title: This state is testing out AI doctors—and actual doctors aren’t happy about it (Wall Street Journal)
New York state residents get the worst of it with the state bending over backwards to take away the people's rights.
Also, let's not confuse independence with AI. Independence is where I can do some extra bloodwork and diagnostics to satisfy my well-being. I don't need an AI limiting what I investigate either.
2. Doctors who depend on revenue from forced visits to renew prescriptions are grifters and not close to a majority. The profession obviously isn’t perfect but the vast majority of physicians I know would be happy to lighten their rosters.
With that said it can’t be a system that creates problems and dumps them back on physicians to fix, hence #1
Ultimately, it should be about personal freedom. This is not a contagious disease we're dealing with here.
> Ultimately, it should be about personal freedom. This is not a contagious disease we're dealing with here.
The state regulates health and medical devices for a reason. Look at what’s happening with all of these prescription mill apps these days which are still theoretically overseen by a licensed healthcare professional - plenty of medical errors and harm in the name of increasing access (a good thing, when done well). We’ll see criminal investigations within a year.