Retro ad futura - Mapping a Trajectory of Trust and Sacrifice from Antiquity to Artificial Intelligence

Abstract: The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in medicine has the potential to revolutionize our approach to clinical decision-making and improve patient outcomes. The implementation of AI, however, may require certain tradeoffs, including the loss of epistemic authority and challenges to physician autonomy; modern physicians must grapple with whether the clinical benefits of AI justify such potential sacrifice. Physicians in antiquity also weighed self-sacrifice in the pursuit of clinical advancement, and their experiences may provide insight for the modern day.
Hippocratic writings directly acknowledge that success as a physician requires years of training, marked by significant self-sacrifice and the forfeit of political advancement. Given the uncertainties of medicine, however, they accept such dedication as necessary to advance medicine and improve patient care.
Later, Galen asserts that the physician must employ rational observation and examination to accurately prognose, treat, and educate the patient and family. He admits, however, that acting in this authority is inherently risky; the physician becomes vulnerable to the outcome, potentially losing his reputation, or his life.
Despite the significant potential of clinical AI, it too may require certain professional sacrifices, including a loss of autonomy or epistemic authority. Looking to historical paradigms, some elements of this sacrifice may be accepted, if sufficient trust in the clinical benefits of AI can be established. This presentation will explore the professional self-sacrifice of physicians in antiquity and provide insights on how they may inform the discussion of potential sacrifice posed by the implementation and expansion of AI in the modern day.

Charles Binkley, MD, FACS, HEC-C – Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine