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A new perspective essay published in JAMA suggests that artificial intelligence (AI) may soon provide better patient care than human physicians alone or those who use AI to supplement their work. The authors of the essay, titled “Will Autonomous AI Exceed AI-Aided Physicians as the Best in Medical Care?”, argue that autonomous AI could be ready to deploy in some medical workflows by 2030.
The essay’s authors, including Ezekiel J. Emanuel, M.D., Ph.D., cite several areas where AI is overtaking human doctors, including gathering patient information, diagnosing conditions, and recommending treatments. They also note that large language models (LLMs), the AI systems behind tools such as ChatGPT, have been improving faster than physicians’ own performance.
AI’s potential impact on medical practices is significant. The authors argue that once AI alone gets better than physicians at a task, adding a physician back in to review the AI’s work tends to make outcomes worse, not safer. A 2024 meta-analysis of 106 human-AI studies found that pairing a person with AI helps only when the person was already outperforming the AI on their own.
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This has significant implications for medical practices, which may need to rethink their approach to AI-assisted workflows. Many AI vendors are currently selling a “physician reviews every AI output” model as the safe, responsible way to deploy AI in a practice. However, this configuration may not be the one that produces the best results as the underlying models keep improving.
They face challenges. Two forces work against smooth AI adoption in a practice: algorithm aversion. Algorithm aversion refers to the tendency for people to distrust and override algorithmic advice, even when it is more accurate.
The authors also note that liability and reimbursement rules have not yet caught up with the use of autonomous AI tools. If an autonomous AI tool misdiagnoses a patient, it is not yet settled how fault and malpractice exposure would be divided among practice, physician, and vendor.
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AI continues to improve.
Medical practices will need to adapt and evolve to take advantage of its potential benefits. This may involve rethinking traditional workflows and approaches to patient care, as well as addressing the challenges and concerns associated with AI adoption. By doing so, practices can position themselves for success in a future where AI plays an increasingly important role in patient care.
