I’ve recently found myself discussing artificial intelligence (AI) with people—including some doctors—who had a very limited understanding of AI in medicine. Their knowledge was mostly confined to large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT or Perplexity, along with a list of their known limitations (many of which have already been largely addressed, indicating how outdated some professionals' views can be). So, I decided to write this short post (rant!) to clarify the current situation.
In recent years, there's been much talk about Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), a highly advanced form of AI capable of understanding, learning, and applying knowledge across various domains, much like a human mind. However, for us patients who urgently await new therapies, AGI remains a distant and abstract goal, having limited direct impact on our daily lives.
What really provides immediate and tangible results is specialized AI, meaning systems designed to tackle specific medical and pharmaceutical challenges (at least in our case). Platforms like DeepMind’s AlphaFold, which accurately predicts protein structures, are already significantly transforming pharmaceutical research by accelerating the discovery and development of new treatments. Other key examples include AI tools for early cancer diagnosis developed by PathAI or Tempus, which use machine learning to swiftly and accurately analyze medical imaging.
We must also consider AI's "jagged capabilities curve": machines today excel greatly in certain specialized tasks, often surpassing human capabilities in complex analyses (which is exactly why we should leverage them in pharmaceuticals). Yet they can fail dramatically at tasks that humans find simple, like interpreting emotional nuances in language or handling new and unforeseen contexts.
This is precisely why the tech industry continuously develops new benchmarks to test and improve AI. Tests such as GPT-4, SuperGLUE, or ARC help identify exactly what current AI lacks to move closer to true AGI, highlighting both strengths and weaknesses.
In conclusion, from my perspective as a patient and as a professional, although the idea of genuine AGI fascinates me, the real value today lies in specialized AI, capable of concretely enhancing the quality of life and treatment possibilities for us patients.
I add a picture to explain the concept of jagged frontier of AI capabilities, but remember this is valid for AGI. Most specialized AI implementations go beyond the frontier, like "super humans" but just in a narrow field.
Doxycycline
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