Healthcare leaders have been urged to come together in order to mitigate the risks associated with Chat-GPT, a new Artificial Intelligence (AI) model. AI has been a slow adapter for the healthcare sector, but Epic, a healthcare software giant, recently announced their plans to integrate the latest version of GPT-4, into their EHR.
At the HIMSS Conference in Chicago on Tuesday, technology experts weighed in on the potential of ChatGPT. Peter Lee, Microsoft’s Corporate Vice President for Research and Incubation, commented that Microsoft didn’t expect the one million users ChatGPT has acquired in the short period of it’s launch. Lee urged healthcare leaders to understand the implications of the ChatGPT technology and the risks that come with it, should it eventually be implemented in healthcare settings.
Healthcare experts have already begun exploring the various use-cases of ChatGPT, like helping out with clinical note-taking and forming hypothetical patient questions as part of student learning. However, Reid Blackman, CEO of Virtue Consultants, an AI ethical services provider, pointed out that most people are not familiar with how ChatGPT actually works and may not conceptually understand its use. Rather than providing accurate content or being able to provide reasoning for it’s conclusions, Blackman made it clear that ChatGPT is simply in the business of being convincing. He advised healthcare leaders to develop a process for identifying the ethical risks for each potential use case and start to implement suitable risk mitigation strategies.
Elon Musk and Steve Wozniak have expressed caution around the use of AI, and have both signed an open letter asking for a six month pause on training AI models more powerful than GPT-4. Kay Firth-Butterfield, CEO of the Center for Trustworthy Technology, also raised questions about potential ethical violations and legal issues. She concluded by expressing that the Healthcare Sector needs to develop a system of accountability if they are to take on the risks associated with the use of ChatGPT.
Epic is a healthcare software giant, founded in 1979, that has revolutionized the healthcare industry by providing electronic health records and tools that make data accessible, free up time for healthcare providers, and standardize healthcare processes. The industry has seen enormous growth since the implementation of their electronic health records system and eventually AI capabilities within healthcare.
Peter Lee is Microsoft’s Corporate Vice President for Research and Incubation. He is also the co-creator of the Microsoft HealthVault, a health-tracking platform, where patients can store their health information and receive health advice from medical professionals. He is currently focusing on deploying AI and machine learning capabilities to transform decision making in the industry.
In conclusion, healthcare leaders have been urged to come together and develop strategies to mitigate the risks posed by ChatGPT. AI is to be carefully monitored within the healthcare industry and the ethical and legal implications need to be considered. This is especially relevant in the wake of the immense success of ChatGPT and many of the top technology leaders raising concerns about the power of the model.
