By Guardian staff reporter
Publication Date: 2025-11-13 17:33:00
Eric Reinhart’s essay raises thoughtful concerns about the risks of generative artificial intelligence (genAI) in healthcare (What We Lose When We Hand Care to Algorithms, November 9). I appreciate that my perspective was included and I stand by my belief that “AI will be as common in healthcare as the stethoscope.”
Reinhart rightly points out that the use of new technologies in our for-profit, time-constrained healthcare system poses serious risks. But to properly assess the risks of genAI, we must first acknowledge the unnecessary errors and deaths occurring today. And then we have to ask ourselves whether this technology is making these problems worse or making medical care safer.
In the United States, 400,000 people die every year from misdiagnosis. Another 250,000 die from preventable medical errors. People with chronic illnesses (lifelong conditions that affect them daily) are often only seen every four to six months without any evaluation or treatment modification…
