President’s Letter: Artificial Intelligence Will Impact Medicine

No doubt you have heard about ChatGPT, the artificial intelligence program that is causing excitement and consternation in fields such as education, technology, and yes- even medicine. This program essentially takes a question and scours the Internet for information and synthesizes it into an easily readable format, and even has the ability to write essay papers based on it. There are some known flaws, such as relying on inaccurate information and biases, but it no doubt will continue to improve.

So in what ways can this impact medicine? One possibility regards patient information – not only provided by the clinician, but by self-directed searching. For example, here is response to the query “explain cancer to a patient”:

Cancer is a disease in which the body’s cells begin to grow uncontrollably. These abnormal cells can form tumors, invade nearby tissues, and spread to other parts of the body through the bloodstream and lymph system. There are many different types of cancer, and the treatment and prognosis depend on the specific type and stage of the cancer. It is important to understand that cancer is a serious illness, but with early detection and proper treatment, many people are able to recover and live long, healthy lives. Your doctor will work with you to develop a treatment plan that is tailored to your specific needs.

Notice that it even shows an uplifting sentence near the end! This information could be used to write patient handouts and informational brochures without a PR team.

What about medical education? Many of us are familiar with UpToDate as a reference source, but it could soon be supplanted by a much more streamlined format. Here is the response to the query of “explain mRNA”:

mRNA (messenger RNA) is a molecule that carries genetic information from DNA in the nucleus to the ribosomes in the cytoplasm, where it is used to synthesize proteins. mRNA is synthesized by transcription, during which a segment of DNA is copied into a complementary RNA molecule. The mRNA molecule then exits the nucleus and travels to the ribosomes, where it is read by transfer RNAs (tRNAs) and translated into a sequence of amino acids that forms a protein.

Sure, you might think- that was an easy one. But how many of you can this succinctly “define oxidative stress”?

Oxidative stress refers to an imbalance between the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the body’s ability to counteract or detoxify their harmful effects through neutralization by antioxidants. ROS are chemically reactive molecules containing oxygen that can cause damage to cells and tissues, leading to inflammation and a host of diseases, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, and neurodegenerative disorders. When the body’s antioxidant defenses are overwhelmed, oxidative stress occurs, leading to cellular damage, DNA mutations, and other harmful effects.

Certainly, of course, there will need to be fact checkers in the science community to reduce the risk of misinformation, but there is no turning back from these automated developments. There will be many more applications, both intentional and unintentional, especially regarding the field of medical education, and it would be in all of our best interest to stay abreast of the uses and attempt to put some guardrails in place such as mandatory citations when AI is used. I would love to hear your feedback at eanorman@msn.com along with your permission to share ideas, and of note, the portions in italics are verbatim from ChatGPT. The rest are mine 🙂