Freakonomics M.D. Podcast: The Perils Of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Using technology to improve medicine seems like a no-brainer. A win-win. 

In reality, however, technology often complicates medical care and rings hollow on its promise of greater efficiency.

Have electronic medical records been a home run? Maybe a bloop single. Has new scanning technology improved care? Or just sent costs into the stratosphere and caused patients to have unnecessary procedures.

The latest episode of Freakonomics M.D., the new podcast from the Freakonomics Radio Network hosted by Harvard physician and economist Dr. Bapu Jena, explores the promise—and perils—of technology such as artificial intelligence in medicine.

 

One particularly noteworthy section comes where Dr. Jena explores two new studies about racial disparities in healthcare:

The first study explains how an algorithm commonly used in the insurance business and in healthcare systems was perpetuating bias against Black patients.

The second study looks at a specific type of pain that Black patients report more than white patients - knee pain - and explores how A.I. revealed a cause that human radiologists missed.

Listen to the episode on all podcast platforms. 

 

 Freakonomics M.D. is a relative newcomer to the growing Freakonomics stable of "smartest person in the room" podcasts. All the podcasts produced by Freakonomics share traits such as, original thinking, data-driven analysis, and carefully crafted solutions.

Each week on Freakonomics M.D., the host, Dr. Jena, digs into a fascinating study at the intersection of economics and healthcare. He takes on questions like: Why do kids with summer birthdays get the flu more often? Can surviving a hurricane help you live longer? What do heart surgery and grocery-store pricing have in common?
Freakonomics M.D. can be a valuable resource for science-deniers who use social media for medical guidance, and for health enthusiasts who are searching for more data-intensive and cognitively rich information.