In this 43-minute MedPage Today webinar, Editor-in-Chief Jeremy Faust, MD, speaks with bioethicist and oncologist Ezekiel J. Emanuel, MD, PhD, of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, about his argument that medicine should be willing to test autonomous artificial intelligence (AI) systems rather than limiting the technology to an assistive role.
Emanuel discusses where AI may rival or outperform physicians, what humans still bring to the doctor-patient relationship, and how medicine may need to rethink medical training, patient choice, oversight, and liability if AI takes on a more independent clinical role.
Jump to sections:
01:24 Why let AI “run the show” in medicine?
06:06 What humans still bring to being a doctor
09:08 How medical training may need to change
11:12 Could doctors actually make AI less effective?
14:50 Should physicians be worried about their jobs?
17:42 What evidence is needed before giving AI more autonomy?
21:08 Who should decide when AI is good enough to practice medicine?
24:10 What role should patients have in choosing AI-driven care?
32:46 Can AI account for patient preferences and judgment?
39:40 Who is liable when autonomous AI gets it wrong?
