Artificial intelligence versus clinicians

Could machines replace human physicians? Substantial private investments are being devoted to achieving exactly that, and some success has been reported in areas such as breast screening,1 fuelling desires among the public for accelerated implementation.2 The main argument of tech optimists is that deep learning AI systems, which learn by themselves from a large set of examples, continually integrate new knowledge and perfect themselves with a speed that humans cannot match.3 They also highlight the benefits of using AI to treat patients, including increased availability, lower costs, and no risk of mutual infection.4

Sceptics argue that AI in healthcare is overhyped, profit driven, and not always in patients’ best interests.5 Nagendran …