Absolutely on target -- but with one asterisk. Yes, Hugo says about AI, "It helps me think." But if you look at what he actually does, the thinking sometimes advances to possible/probable hypotheses at a level of clinical detail that is essentially clinical reasoning. None of this detracts from the main point, Dave, that you (and Hugo and others) are making. We are not replacing doctors. But #PatientUseAI reflects a profound disruption, one, frankly, in which #PatientsUseAI is a constructive participant for which medical professionals (and patients) should be grateful.
Thanks for speaking up, esteemed doctor! (Seriously.)
I view your observation as an extension, not an asterisk! As noted in the post, "Hugo's Law" is a response to worries about hallucination. Indeed, he very well chases trains of thought right out into clinical reasoning! That IS what he's thinking about.
Great post, as usual. I want to focus on one point, your "Pro tip: if you start a conversation with an AI about a medical question, you might not have all the best information at first. Go ahead and get started if you want, but Don’t expect the best possible answer with incomplete information."
That is not known enough and mentioned enough. GenAI doesn't "know" anything. It is a mathematics tool that uses statistics to produce, most of the time, content that makes sense and helps us think forward. As an aside, it is easy to tweak it so that it generates non-sensical content.
Because of the way GenAI works you'll get better and results as you improve the precision of the questions you ask (prompt engineering). So start with general questions. Analyze the results and pull-out what's most important in it. Then asked a focused question based on what you've pulled-out. Work iteratively in this way and you'll end up with remarkably helpful results.
And, of course, double check the answers you get, by either using a different Chat service to validate tthe response or by using old-style search engines to do the same. If you are looking for medical/scientific topics, go to PubMed and check what has been published about the answer you got. You'll end up being much more informed than if you wait for an underpaid, overworked HCP.
Of course you're at the forefront of education about this! Thank you, I'm sharing it.
Absolutely on target -- but with one asterisk. Yes, Hugo says about AI, "It helps me think." But if you look at what he actually does, the thinking sometimes advances to possible/probable hypotheses at a level of clinical detail that is essentially clinical reasoning. None of this detracts from the main point, Dave, that you (and Hugo and others) are making. We are not replacing doctors. But #PatientUseAI reflects a profound disruption, one, frankly, in which #PatientsUseAI is a constructive participant for which medical professionals (and patients) should be grateful.
Thanks for speaking up, esteemed doctor! (Seriously.)
I view your observation as an extension, not an asterisk! As noted in the post, "Hugo's Law" is a response to worries about hallucination. Indeed, he very well chases trains of thought right out into clinical reasoning! That IS what he's thinking about.
Great post, as usual. I want to focus on one point, your "Pro tip: if you start a conversation with an AI about a medical question, you might not have all the best information at first. Go ahead and get started if you want, but Don’t expect the best possible answer with incomplete information."
That is not known enough and mentioned enough. GenAI doesn't "know" anything. It is a mathematics tool that uses statistics to produce, most of the time, content that makes sense and helps us think forward. As an aside, it is easy to tweak it so that it generates non-sensical content.
Because of the way GenAI works you'll get better and results as you improve the precision of the questions you ask (prompt engineering). So start with general questions. Analyze the results and pull-out what's most important in it. Then asked a focused question based on what you've pulled-out. Work iteratively in this way and you'll end up with remarkably helpful results.
And, of course, double check the answers you get, by either using a different Chat service to validate tthe response or by using old-style search engines to do the same. If you are looking for medical/scientific topics, go to PubMed and check what has been published about the answer you got. You'll end up being much more informed than if you wait for an underpaid, overworked HCP.