By James Dargan
Publication Date: 2026-10-23 14:15:00
Microsoft’s AI diagnostic system, MAI-DxO, correctly diagnosed complex medical cases more than twice as often as generalist physicians in a simulation, according to a study published in Science. Mustafa Suleyman, CEO of Microsoft AI, described the result as a step toward medical superintelligence.
DxO coordinates multiple AI agents that function like a panel of doctors, questioning patients, ordering tests and debating diagnoses. Using complex cases from the New England Journal of Medicine, it was correct 83% of the time, compared with 36% for primary care doctors and general internists working individually with reference materials. Specialists and physician teams, who typically handle such cases, were not included in the comparison.
The study’s data suggests much of the improvement comes from stronger underlying models, with DxO adding further gains. Microsoft tested models from OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, Meta and DeepSeek, achieving its best results with…