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Doctor Robot

A teenager staring mindlessly into to a computer monitor is ubiquitous in the 21st

century. Seven days a week, 365 days a year, in one form or another I usually have some

computer device with me. Technology is always on my mind, from the lastest video games to

how I can upgrade my desktop. To me technology is as necessary to life as breathing and eating.

If I want to be left alone, I plug in my headphones and listen to music while doing my work. If I

want to take my mind off something, I play video games or watch movies. In doing so, I wonder

how technology has affected my life.

Computers and medicine are two dissimilar fields,yet each one advances the other.

Computers are used everywhere in medicine —from indexing medical information, or running

MRI machines and other devices. Until recently, I never thought about the connection between

the computers and medicine. Only after learning that two of my cousins have prediabetes did I

worry about my own health. It is odd to be thinking about this at my age; my cousins are slightly

younger than me and more athletic than I will ever be so it makes me wonder what will happen

to me. All of us are young and relatively fit yet it feels as if we are all sitting on a ticking time

bomb. I am especially worried about myself, since my lifestyle is relatively unhealthy consisting

mostly of eating junk food and sitting around the computer.

As the kickoff for senior project crept closer and closer. I knew for certain that I wanted

to pick a technology-related topic, but I did not know which one until I read an article about

machine learning. Thus, information from the the article and my own health questions led me to
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ask: How have machine learning and artificial intelligence affected the medical sector and how

will future advancements affect it?

When I think of the medical sector the first thing that comes to mind is a hospital.

Walking down the weathered cement sidewalk of Geary Boulevard, I felt a cold gust of wind

blow past me. In the distance I see the familiar facade of the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center.

A building I have seen many times with its weathered yellow cement and many panes of window

glass. I sign in at the front desk, noting that they still use a sign-in clipboard, before making my

way to the elevators. After getting off the elevator, I make my way to the waiting room. After

getting called in I make my way past the locked doors into the hallway. As I make my way to my

doctor’s door, I see the familiar sight of a white manual scale that has turned cream colored with

the passage of time. I walk into my doctor’s room and see the familiar ear scope hanging on the

wall and the ancient computer in the corner of the room surrounded by a rat’s nest of colorful

cables. As I inspect the room closely, I notice that the computer is the only piece of technology

in the room. It looks as though the equipment in this hospital has not changed since the early

2000s.

That Kaiser hospital may have outdated technology, but advances in machine learning

(ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) have made improvements to the medical sector. Though, in

order for one to discern these advances one must understand what machine learning and artificial

intelligence are. The prevailing notion of artificial intelligence is that, “AI involves machines

that can perform tasks that are characteristic of human intelligence. While this is rather general,

it includes things like planning, understanding language, recognizing objects and sounds,

learning, and problem solving” (McClelland). Artificial intelligence is not such a new idea in as
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it has been around for decades in science fiction. However, AI devices first emerged in the 1970s

with the advent of personal computers which made programming mainstream. Over time, AI

devices entered periods of progress with the creations such as the XCON expert system that used

rules and knowledge to select computer components for a customer based on their specifications.

Albeit, this field did also face periods of stagnation dubbed the AI winters between 1974 and

1980 and between 1987 and 1993 (Foote). In light of this, artificial intelligence has once again

made a comeback in the 21st century driven by faster and more powerful computers.

Nevertheless, creating an AI program is still an arduous job that requires patience and copious of

lines of code; as a result AI scientists created ML. Machine learning is a branch of AI that

leverages statistical models and data to compile programs without the need to be programmed

explicitly by a programmer (McClelland). In other words, ML is a means to an end for the

development of AI. A person may be able to create an AI program without ML, but it would

require millions of lines of code and a lot of time.

Artificial intelligence and machine learning may seem like science-fiction, but it has

already made waves in the medical world. In 2009, researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester,

Minnesota, built a network of AI devices designed to diagnose cases of endocarditis– an

inflammation of the inner layer of the heart (Ford 149). If left untreated this inflammation may

be deadly since the inflammation can cause strokes and heart failure. The method for diagnosing

endocarditis is simple. The method for diagnosis, “Normally requires that a probe be inserted

into the patients esophagus in order to determine whether or not the inflammation is caused by a

potentially deadly infection– a procedure that is uncomfortable, expensive, and itself carries risks

for the patient” (Ford 149). However, this method of diagnosis can cause other health problems,
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such as causing infections on other organs, if done incorrectly. Though, considering that this is

21st century, it makes one wonder why methods of diagnosis have been relatively left

unchanged. In the case of endocarditis, doctors have begun to explore different avenues for

diagnosing the disease. Doctors at Mayo were able to train a network of AI devices to make

diagnoses based on data of observable symptoms and routine noninvasive tests alone. A study

involving 189 patients found that the network was accurate more than 99 percent of the time

(Ford 149). The doctors came up with a noninvasive method of diagnosis, limiting the chance of

infection and other complications. In addition, the AI network that the Mayo doctors created is as

good or better than an actual human doctor at accurately diagnosing endocarditis. Though, this

innovation is just a sliver of what ML and AI can do.

Machine learning can be used to detect diseases that a person already has, but it can also

be used to prevent people from getting disease in the first place. As David Zheng, a computer

science major at UC Davis, states, “A lot of applications currently implement machine learning

data. The applications for machine learning are endless. There are even programs that can detect

disease or diagnosis patients based on the patient's history.” By having an AI device monitor a

person's health data, that device can predict the likelihood of a person contracting a lifestyle

disease, such as diabetes, and provide ways to prevent it. Machine learning can also be used to

detect diseases before any noticeable symptoms are observable. For example,

“An unknowing sufferer of the neurodegenerative disorder Parkinson’s might be alerted

of the disease onset long before a doctor would diagnose it, by way of subtle vocal
tremors and reduced speech volume noticeable to the human ear. Although there is
currently no cure for Parkinson's, an early diagnosis may help improve quality of life”
(Dormehl 78).
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Parkinson’s may not shorten a person’s lifespan, but the disorder does affects the body’s nervous

system and motor skills. Because of this many people live a long time with Parkinson’s disease.

But, knowledge of the onset of the disease may prove to be beneficial in preventing early

sufferers from falling to their deaths.

Parkinson’s disease does not currently have a cure, but diseases such as strokes do have

cures. Tom Simonite, the bureau chief for MIT Technology Review San Francisco, notes,

“Someone in the US suffers a stroke every 40 seconds… Doctors sum up the importance of each

successive minute with a pithy and chilling phrase: ‘Time is brain.’ The longer a person waits for

treatment, the more brain tissue dies. Time is brain, but also disability, or death” (Simonite).

Time is precious for a stroke victim, since the brain is slowly dying due to lack of oxygen.

But, a San Francisco healthcare startup aims to identify and prevent strokes in susceptible

individuals. The startup, Viz, has trained a ML algorithms to detect blockages in major brain

blood vessels. When the software finds a blockage it sends an alert to a brain surgeon to review

the images. In addition, the software flags images that it deems important (Simonite). Because of

this the ML program prompt medical staff to prescribe blood thinners to at risk patients which

could potentially save thousands of lives. Similar studies have been done with ML programs

similar to the one Viz has created. In one study, researchers used ML to predict which patients

suffering from chest pains would have heart attacks. In a pilot test, the program was able to

predict the ultimate diagnosis 94 percent of the time. (Machine Learning Techniques Show

Promise for Supporting Medical Decisions”). However, Emily Williams, a programmer of 19

years and a machine learning hobbyist, cautions, “The advantages of ML are that we can solve

problems that we don’t know how to solve. The disadvantages are that we don’t really know how
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the solutions work. An adversarial example that comes to mind is adding some well-crafted noise

to a picture and a machine learning model can completely change its prediction.” Machine

learning programs are not silver bullets, they are not perfectly accurate, they contain errors just

like human doctors. If they are fed inaccurate data, ML programs will will output inaccurate

results that can can cause people to die. Therefore, people should consider getting a second

opinion from their doctor or healthcare physician.

Machine learning and artificial intelligence is not just limited to diagnoses,it can also be

used to discover drugs to cure diseases, such as cancer and malaria. EVE, an AI robot designed

to automate drug discovery at the University of Manchester, was created to efficiently and

cheaply discover new drugs. This means that more drugs can be discovered for rare diseases

since pharmaceutical companies typically don't dedicate much time and curing diseases for the

poor. This is because developing a new drug can cost upwards of $480 million dollars (Dormehl

176). EVE could potentially revolutionize the pharmaceutical industry by researching and

creating drugs that were previously overlooked due to low profit margins and small populations

of sufferers. In doing so, EVE will be able to save thousands to millions of lives by creating

specialized drugs to treat diseases that are deemed unprofitable. This is all possible because Eve

not only carries out the testing of new drugs, but also comes up with hypotheses about what to

test. As such, EVE formulates theories to explain what it sees, devises experiments to test these

theories, physically carries out experiments and then interprets the results (Dormehl 176). EVE

can also run 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, so the time needed to develop drugs can be used

efficiently. As a result, pharmaceutical overhead costs are reduced and profits margins grow.
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Aside from discovering drugs and diagnosing strokes, machine learning and artificial

intelligence have lots of advancements yet to come for the medical field. Machine learning

programs have given doctors a new lens to look at certain health problems. For example, the

C-Path team, created an machine learning program to look at medical images with a fresh eye.

Their software was not only as accurate as human doctor, but it also identified three new features

of breast cancer tissue that turned out to be good indicators of survival rates,” (Brynjolfsson and

McAfee 93). The new ML program has shown doctors features of cancer that they have

previously overlooked and missed. These new features of breast cancer could prove beneficial in

identifying more feature of breast cancer tissue which could lead to more accurately diagnose

patients with early-onset breast cancer. These new feature may also be useful in creating

personal treatment plans for those suffering from breast. Additionally, IBM’s Watson AI system

has shown signs of growth in the medical field.

“In collaboration with the New York Genome Center, the Watson team is attempting to
identify the culprit mutations in patients with a highly aggressive form of brain cancer,
marrying this information with a rapid search of the world’s literature to find promising
therapies– therapies that might never have been tried for this particular cancer before”
(Wachter 111-112).

Hospitals are not the only place Watson has garnered attention in the medical world. Anthem

Blue Cross expects to use Watson to help their physicians identify the most likely diagnosis and

treatment options in complex cases. Anthem believes that Wayson will serve as a powerful tool

in the physician's decision making process (Kaplan 150).

However, many people believe that ML and AI will cause job lost in the medical sector.

This is because IBM’s system is capable of churning through vast troves of information in

various formats, such as doctor’s notes and medical journals, and then almost instantly
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constructing inferences that might elude even the most attentive human researcher (Ford 147).

People believe that IBM’s Watson and other AI programs will replace doctors and nurses in

hospital, resulting in a dystopian future. But, IBM reassures the public that AI devices will not

replace healthcare workers. IBM explains that they recognize ML and AI as an ally and adjunct

for doctors, rather than as a competitor (Wachter 113). Therefore, people should embrace the

benefits that ML and AI have to offer, especially in the medical field.

If machine learning and artificial intelligence continue to make headway in the medical

sector, then the mortality rates around the world may plummet. When I began writing this paper,

I was worried about getting diabetes and having to make lifestyle changes. I did not know much

about ML, AI, and their applications in the medical sector. But from this ordeal, I have gained a

great respect to the programmers and doctors who made these programs possible, saving lives all

over the world. I have also learned to stop worrying about diabetes since there are people worse

off than me. Life is precious, I should enjoy it while I can.

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Works Cited

Book

Brynjolfsson, Erik, and Andrew McAfee. ​The Second Machine Age: Work, Progress, and

Prosperity in a Time of Brilliant Technologies​. W. W. Norton & Company, 2016.

Dormehl, Luke. ​Thinking Machines: The Quest For Artificial Intelligence And Where It's

Taking Us Next​. TarcherPerigee, 2017.

Ford, Martin. ​Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future​. Basic

Books, a Member of the Perseus Books Group, 2016.

Kaplan, Jerry. ​Humans Need Not Apply: A Guide to Wealth and Work in the Age of

Artificial Intelligence​. Yale University Press, 2015.

Wachter, Robert M. ​The Digital Doctor: Hope, Hype, and Harm at the Dawn of Medicine's

Computer Age​. McGraw-Hill Education, 2015.

Electronic

Foote , Keith D. “A Brief History of Artificial Intelligence.” ​Dataversity​, Dataversity

Education LLC., 5 Apr. 2016,

www.dataversity.net/brief-history-artificial-intelligence/. 25 Jan. 2018.

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“Machine Learning Techniques Show Promise for Supporting Medical

Decisions.”​ScienceDaily​, American College of Cardiology, 28 Feb. 2018,

www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/02/180228085357.htm. 3 Mar. 2018.

McClelland, Calum. “The Difference Between Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning,

and Deep Learning.” ​Medium​, IoT For All, 4 Dec. 2017,

medium.com/iotforall/the-difference-between-artificial-intelligence-machine-learning

-and-deep-learning-3aa67bff5991. 22 Jan. 2018.

Simonite, Tom. “Using AI to Help Stroke Victims When 'Time Is Brain'.” ​Wired​, Conde

Nast, 28 Feb. 2018,

www.wired.com/story/using-ai-to-help-stroke-victims-when-time-is-brain/. 3 Mar.

2018.

Primary

Williams, Emily. Machine Learning Programmer. Email Interview. 22 March 2018.

Zheng, David. Computer Science Major at University of California Davis. Personal

Interview. 4 March 2018.

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Works Consulted

Book

Cukier, Kenneth. “The Data-Driven World.” ​Megatech: Technology in 2050​, edited by

Daniel Franklin, Profile Books Ltd., 2017, pp. 164–166.

Wadhwa, Vivek, and Alex Salkever. ​The Driver in the Driverless Car: How Our

Technology Choices Will Create the Future​. BK Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.,

2017.

Electronic

Anyoha, Rockwell. “The History of Artificial Intelligence.” ​Science in the News​, Harvard

University, 28 Aug. 2017,

sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2017/history-artificial-intelligence/.