IBM, Healthcare, and the Implications of Artificial Intelligence

Reference: Forbes

In 2011, when IBM came out with its supercomputer Watson, it seemed like IBM had taken the largest leap of faith in the world of AI and achieved the impossible. Soon, the question arose, what will Watson do? But when IBM partnered with the healthcare industry—promising to bring AI into the medicine world—everyone assumed their healthcare experiences were going to be elevated and the cure for many diseases was soon to be found. Unfortunately, Watson was not much help in fulfilling all that it promised. Many physicians that worked with Watson found that its solutions were redundant. The services Watson was providing were not adding to the efficiency of the hospitals. Rather, it served as a yes-man to many physicians.

Following IBM’s lead, many startups entered the healthcare space with their own AI in hope of being successful. The hope was that AI like Watson would cure cancer, but there was no progress in that. But, not all hope is lost for AI in the healthcare industry. Recent researchers and physicians found that AI can check the work of physicians and ensure accuracy in diagnosis. From training computers to read echocardiograms to using an iPhone to test diabetes patients for retina disease, computers can be used in the medicine field to ensure accuracy and speed up the diagnostic process.

AI may not be able to take over the health industry and perfect it, but it can serve as a AutoCorrect for physicians. It can work to ensure physicians make the correct diagnosis. As for IBM’s Watson, the efforts to cure cancer and revolutionize the healthcare industry are still going. IBM recently reworked its Healthcare team. They have downsized and are looking at the projects they began with the healthcare industry from a new perspective in hopes of improvement.

I was a junior in high school when I first learned about and researched IBM’s Watson. To my surprise, Watson has not lived up to its fame. I feel this is because unlike many AI being developed, IBM was well-advertised before it even made any notable accomplishments. Although Watson has the power to run and sort big data, what good is that data if not used? Watson is an example of technology that fails to fulfill its purpose due to lacking focus. Instead of taking such large steps into revolutionizing the medicine world, IBM should have eased Watson into being a useful tool in the healthcare process first. Watson also poorly utilized big-data. The goal was to have Watson keep track of patient records and access medical history easily, speeding up the process, but it failed to be incorporated in improving the experience of patients as well. IBM promised to make Watson the solution to healthcare, research, and medicine. At the same time, Watson was working with businesses in the private sector. If the program had been more focused maybe Watson would have been the leading AI of the world with a cure for cancer at IBM’s fingertips.