The biggest US public hospital system could soon replace some radiologists with AI. Radiology is ground zero for arguments over AI’s employment impacts: The “Godfather of AI” Geoffrey Hinton said in 2016 that radiologists would soon be replaced.
In fact, the number of radiologists in the US grew, as AI-human collaboration made them more effective and thus in demand. But perhaps, as with chess, it takes sophisticated strategy to find the sweet spot where human input improves rather than hinders AI output.
The CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals told a conference: “We could replace a great deal of radiologists with AI” if the regulatory environment permitted it, with major cost savings. AI is now “better than human beings” at spotting breast cancers, he said.