Executive Summary Artificial intelligence, AI, is the replication of human intelligence processes by computer systems, programs, robots, and machines. AI has been utilized in a plethora of industries, since its inception in the 1950s. A few industries that have thrived in its success include the following: transportation, communication, manufacturing, banking, and social media. One of the most recent industries to start utilizing AI, and the most beneficial to humans, is the medical field. AI has allowed for various sub-fields, within medicine, to become more efficient and modernized. For example, in the niche field of human genetics, AI systems can be used to detect birth defects in newborns in a matter of hours with little to no error in the results, whereas before the use of these new intelligence systems, newborn genetic testing results would take weeks to render and include human errors, making them less reliable and less effective in the process of concluding diagnoses. AI makes gaining the information needed to medically treat patients and the ways in which they are treated, more time efficient while providing plausible courses of successful action. Another realm of the medical field that this new technology has been useful for are time-sensitive constructions of customizable treatments for diseases and lifethreatening or potentially life-threatening rapid onset conditions. The advancements that come from using AI systems for specialized medical treatments, with minimal impacts stemming from human error, have made efficiency and consistency more common among standard, widely relied on medical practices and procedures. The ability to use AI to individualize dosages, frequencies, and varieties of treatments has expanded the possibilities for more effective care when treating the differing groups of people who might be impacted. Consistent medical practices are something that were slightly lacking before the introduction of artificial intelligence systems; because of their consistency and ability to produce a wider variety of combinations, AI systems aid physicians and their teams in eliminating the dilemma of having either quality or quantity of treatment by providing them with several reliable and effective treatments. While AI systems can prove as useful in many realms of the medical field, they can also have their drawbacks. These systems have proven to be revolutionary, but what happens when an expensive piece of equipment breaks and physicians are forced to revert back to the manual methods of performing testing and research? Researchers have been co-dependent on artificial intelligence and have been essentially spoiled by their production of accurate and swift renderings of results. It is important that researchers and medical personnel alike continue educating themselves about how to effectively use artificial intelligence while still reviewing pre-AI procedures. Artificial intelligence is a magnificent tool, but it is an expensive tool that is not yet universally accessible worldwide. In the event of something like a detrimental natural disaster, the need AI is present, but the need for medical field personnel’s knowledge and manual procedures are needed as well, if not more. No mechanism is perfect, and AIs are no exception; their capabilities are hard to beat, and while they have revolutionized medicine, the use of original methods can still prove beneficial at times. The Future of Artificial Intelligence As the need for AIs continues to grow, the need for more widespread and userfriendly equipment grows with it. AI systems are typically costly and require hours of training in order for someone to operate them successfully. While most developed countries, such as the U.S., have access to these resources, other parts of the world who are under developed, do not. Access to these systems in places where they are needed most in the medical field, such as third world countries, are limited due to the scarcity of resources and training opportunities. These systems have the power to improve healthcare, but unfortunately only for countries who can afford the maintenance, equipment, and training that go into the process of operating them successfully. Artificial intelligence can formulate treatments and courses of action to treat common diseases such as Malaria, West Nile Virus, and Ebola, but without physicians in the areas of the world who experience these diagnoses the most, their country’s development and progression of health care is hindered significantly and, treatment options are limited. Situations such as there are a prime example of artificial intelligence’s most considerable drawback within the modern medical field, exclusivity. As mentioned above, the need for AI is not slowing down anytime soon, but the lack of conformity among AI users can become a setback for the system’s improvement. For example, all variation of the COVID-19 vaccine was created in a lab using humanperformed research along with help from artificial intelligence, like most modern vaccines are. The scientists and researchers who were developing the vaccine were heavily reliant on knowledge and previous research done on COVID-19’s cousin virus, SARS. Due to the severity of the pandemic, the vaccines were manufactured at an incredible rate, and thanks to AI’s ability to find patterns and connections between the virus that already had an established treatment, within a year, vaccines were deemed sage enough to release to the public. However, as time has passed since its release, the vaccine’s effectiveness has been shown to not be as what it was once thought to be. Unfortunately, due to the heavy reliance of AI, rushed production of the vaccine, and the lost element of human impact during the development process, the vaccines have shown to be less effective than what AIs predicted. The failed COVID-19 vaccine developed and distributed by Johnson and Johnson is just one example that proves artificial intelligence is incredible within the field of medicine, but in order for it to remain incredible, it must be used simultaneously with real intelligence in order to remain effective and reliant, especially in the field of vaccine development. Artificial intelligence can be revolutionary in the medical field through its ability to assist researchers in storing data and comparing it at a rapid rate, a rate much faster than what any human could ever do. With AI’s ability to have as much memory storage as the specific system allows, researchers will one day have the ability to access a library of any and all information regarding previous research with regard to any topic within medicine. With future researchers and physicians having access to this information, early detection of unknown or unusual mutations and strains of already known viruses, such as COVID-19 or the flu, will be easier to detect. With this early detection and ability to so quickly identify different variants, accuracy of yearly boosters, such as the flu shot, can be more easily determined. Artificial intelligence and its ability to provide a digital library is aiding in the medical field’s evolution and its reliability when it comes to vaccines and genetic testing. Overall, cohesiveness between artificial intelligence and human intelligence must be present when utilizing these new systems in the medical field. Although the medical field can greatly benefit from these new and ever-evolving systems, these systems along with their continued education programs have a long way to go before they are fully successful in every area in which they are needed. A consistent and user-friendly system for training and system maintenance is necessary for the globalization and universal use of these systems. Once more research and evolution regarding AIs and their uses is done, the medical field will hopefully be able to advance with humans and treat them as they continue changing and growing for generations to come. Works Cited “Artificial Intelligence in Medicine.” IBM, https://www.ibm.com/topics/artificial- intelligence-medicine?gclid=CjwKCAjw8qVBhANEiwAfjXLrhonZR9YPkLntqT9cyZEkDQQFEfjzDhiB2jZqM7blhH1jOdsDeBxRoCn1oQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds. Basu, Kanadpriya, et al. “Artificial Intelligence: How Is It Changing Medical Sciences and Its Future?” Indian Journal of Dermatology, Wolters Kluwer - Medknow, 2020, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7640807/. Briganti, Giovanni, and Olivier Le Moine. “Artificial Intelligence in Medicine: Today and Tomorrow.” Frontiers, Frontiers, 1 Jan. 1AD, https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmed.2020.00027/full. Director, Julie Kieferassociate, and Associate Director. “Ai Quickly Identifies Genetic Causes of Disease in Newborns: @Theu.” TheU, 14 Oct. 2021, https://attheu.utah.edu/facultystaff/ai-technology-identifies-genetic-causes-ofserious-disease/.
