Doctors Told Him He Was Going to Die. Then A.I. Saved His Life. Overnight.

If you're online much, you know AI is everwhere. And if you're like the rest of us, you've found enough errors to make you wary. But healthcare could really benefit; here's just one story.

Jump right to the story here. (GIFTED article; no paywall)

Barely conscious, all treatments for his rare disease tried, Joseph Coates was told the only thing left to decide was whether he would die at home or in the hospital.

After months of failed treatments, as a last-ditch effort, a physician turned AI loose on the problem. By morning, AI churned out a novel potential solution, never tried before on Coates’ rare disease.

And it worked. Coates responded to treatment within a week. Today, he’s in remissions.

I’ve long thought AI might have a huge roll in healthcare. Millions of research articles are spread all over the globe in multiple languages, and multiple sciences—all with their own research journals—are involved in researching any one disease from completely different perspectives. It’s often the blend of those disparate sciences that eventually yields an answer…but then it takes an average of 17 years from research to rearch the bedside.

This is great story, and one we’re likely to hear more of. Imagine…the power of AI to find what we know from all over the world, and likely—as in this case—already approved and available as treatement for other conditions. With all of its current warps, AI has the potential for breakthrough efficiency—as it did in the case—and to democratize care worldwide.

Here’s more recent news on the use of AI in medicine and research:

• Columbia University: How artificial intelligence is changing biomedical research.

• American Medical Association: AI in medical education.

• The World Economic Forum: 6 ways AI is transforming healthcare.