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Introduction are experiencing a rapid expansion of new technologies which are fusing the digital and biological worlds. New digital technologies—such as artificial intelligence, electronic health records and Big Data, telemedicine, ‘wearables’ for home monitoring and virtual/augmented realities—are shaping the future of medicine to become more efficient, more accurate and more sustainable. 1 Digital systems from industry leaders such as DeepMind and IBM Watson are already being tested for use in healthcare in the UK and the United States. by machines that outperform us in many areas, some clinicians fear that artificial intelligence will render them redundant. This is, however, to underestimate the role and value of the doctor to the patient and society. Yes, artificial intelligence has the potential to precipitate one of the greatest changes in the role of the doctor to date, but this is not something to be feared. Change is inevitable, but we believe the core values that characterise a good doctor will remain unchanged. contemporary culture, there is a timeless hero known simply as ‘The Doctor’ who regularly regenerates to meet the demands of a new generation of humans. Despite the anticipation – and even anxiety – of each regeneration, we quickly get used to each new incarnation of ‘The Doctor’ because the core principles hold firm. 2, too, in the age of artificial intelligence. Doctors will need to adapt: to let go of old roles, and to find where they can be most relevant, and make most impact. In most reviews of artificial intelligence, it is the computer algorithm that takes centre stage: what can it do better than humans. In this article, we have put the spotlight back on the human doctor: their role and their unique gift – to be human, when a perfect algorithm is not enough.
Liu et al. (Sun,) studied this question.