Computers in the Workplace

Healthcare is an area that will greatly benefit from AI and the advancements in all things computer. 

Artificial intelligence will positively impact patient outcomes.  Surgical use of AI coupled with mechanical devices will help surgeons practice greater precision and, thus, lead to shorter patient recovery time.  AI can also analyze a huge data set, an analysis that would be inconceivable for physicians to undertake, for greater accuracy in who will and will not acquire a particular disease.  This AI-driven predictive power is based on the consideration of an individual’s genomic background, family history of acquiring a given disease, and lifestyle.  This predictive power will lead to decreased health care costs because diseases will be able to be treated proactively instead of reactively.

Another area where AI will be of great service is reading images obtained from CT scans, x-rays, and MRIs.  AI has been proven to be able to diagnose diseases related to these technologies better than well-trained radiologists.  Breast cancer, in turn, will be able to be diagnosed much earlier leading to better patient outcomes and lower health care costs.  Additionally, early diagnosis of brain tumors will lead to increased patient longevity.  The difficulty in detecting minor fractures will be largely eliminated.

Yet another segment of medicine that will benefit from AI is the discovery of new drugs. AI can pore over information related to chemicals that can predict which substances may be beneficial in treating different types of diseases.  AI can also help to discover new gene therapies for given diseases due to its ability to analyze huge amounts of data such as that in the human genome.

Computer literacy and thereby training for all those involved in healthcare is essential if all the benefits of AI in healthcare are to be realized. Computer hardware and networking advancements will aid in the implementation of AI into the practice of medicine.  Faster processors will create better diagnostic speeds in emergency situations where time is of the essence.  Advancements in video cards will only make AI better at the tasks described above.  3D storage will make the storage of medical records less cumbersome and increase the speed at which such records can be accessed.  Better operating systems will also increase speed in medical applications by possibly increasing the number of bits a processor can work with at a time.  Expansion of networking media to rural areas will make health care more accessible.  Additionally, increased network speeds will lead to better outcomes in emergency situations.