Artificial Intelligence (AI) to replace doctors? Elon Musk sparked controversy over his recent comments on medical education and the role of AI in health care.
In a recent YouTube podcast, Moonshots with Peter Diamandis, hosted by Peter H. Diamandis, executive chairman of the X Prize Foundation, with David Blundin, founder & GP of Link Ventures, Musk expressed his views on the role of AI in health care and the future it holds in the medical industry.
Musk argued that AI-driven technologies soon outperform human clinicians in many medical tasks, fundamentally transforming health care delivery worldwide.
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He mentioned how AI is pretty close to replacing half of all jobs, which includes education as well. He also cited an example of in some advanced cases of automation, like LASIK, a patient prefers a robot rather than an ophthalmologist with a hand-held laser.
When asked whether aspiring physicians should still go to medical school, Musk bluntly replied that it could be “pointless,” asserting that AI systems and intelligent robots will deliver care superior to that of today’s doctors.
The podcast garnered mixed reactions from netizens over Musk's remarks on AI replacing doctors in the medical industry. While some did not seem to agree with his views, some echoed optimism with his statements.
Meanwhile, Musk shared a public petition on the government to cancel the puberty blockers trial on X (formerly Twitter), saying that they are a crime and should be banned. Puberty blockers are those drugs that can be used to delay the changes of puberty in transgender and gender-diverse youth who have started puberty. The medicines used for this purpose are known as gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analogues.