Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged as a transformative force in healthcare but its growing power must be accompanied by ethics, accountability and human compassion, said PGIMER Director Vivek Lal on Sunday.
He made the remark addressing the sixth foundation day of the Department of GI Surgery, HPB and Liver Transplant.
Professor Lal described AI as “the new nuclear power”, stressing that its enormous potential could benefit patients only when harnessed responsibly and judiciously.
“If nuclear power is used in the wrong way, then you are going to have Hiroshima and Nagasaki soon. Ethics is absolutely mandatory if we have to use AI for a good cause,” he said.
He underlined that AI should be regarded as a powerful aid to clinical decision-making rather than a substitute for the experience and judgement of doctors.
Recalling his own long clinical experience, Lal described himself humorously as a “dinosaur” who continued to believe in natural intelligence. He said that the rigorous training and experience acquired at the PGIMER gave its doctors an important advantage. “Experience is something that AI cannot replicate. It kicks you, it hits you hard and it hits you where it hurts the most—and you gain experience from it,” he remarked. — TNS
