A 49-year old woman notices that she has been experiencing new vaginal bleeding for the past few days. She is concerned and asks her longtime family doctor for advice. She is surprised when she hears responses from a platform powered by artificial intelligence (AI). This new AI system, which costs a lot of money, replaces the secretary she used to have, who was familiar with her and knew how to quickly make appointments or connect her to the doctor. The call starts with a library of prompts. After pressing 0 to talk with a person, she’s told the next appointment is nine weeks away. She hangs up and redials to discuss her problem with a pleasant computer voice, which almost sounds like a real person and asks her to describe her problem—eventually responding with a long-winded response with possible explanations for her bleeding. The algorithm uses a proprietary formula to recommend lifestyle changes, watchful waiting and instructions to dial back in case the problem persists.
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She eventually loses her patience and decides that she will visit the office personally. Her doctor becomes concerned after seeing her briefly in the office and orders an intelligent CT scan.
