We're having the wrong conversation about AI doctors.
While everyone debates whether AI will replace physicians, we're ignoring that human doctors are already failing systematically.
5% of UK primary care visits result in misdiagnosis. Over 800,000 Americans die or suffer permanent injury annually from diagnostic errors. Evidence-based treatments are offered only 50% of the time.
Meanwhile, AI solved 100% of common medical cases by the second suggestion, and 90% of rare diseases by the eighth, outperforming human doctors in direct comparisons.
The story hits close to home for me, because I suffer from GBS. A kid named Alex saw 17 doctors over 3 years for chronic pain. None could explain it. His desperate mother tried ChatGPT, which suggested tethered cord syndrome. Doctors confirmed the AI's diagnosis. Something similar happened to me, and I'm still around to talk about it.
This isn't about AI replacing doctors, quite the opposite, it's about acknowledging that doctors are working with stone age brains in a world where new biomedical research is published every 39 seconds.
[https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/aug/31/the-big-idea-why-we-should-embrace-ai-doctors](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/aug/31/the-big-idea-why-we-should-embrace-ai-doctors)..
Aug 31, 2025