Op-comic: What one doctor learned as a guinea pig for AI

By Nathan Gray

June 3, 2024 3 AM PT

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When I was a student, I never imagined how much of my life in medicine would be tethered to a computer.

Our hospital invited guinea pigs to pilot A.I. for notetaking. I was interested but skeptical. Then I saw glowing comments.

So I jumped in. After 15 years, it was hard to let go of having to type while speaking with patients.

Despite my reluctance, the A.I. program we tested shocked me. It generated an accurate and coherent summary of conversations.

As with any new technology, there were hiccups. I had to awkwardly speaking findings aloud, and content still needed edits.

But once I trusted the program enough, the screen took a lot less of my attention, moving away from the center of the room.

As a palliative care doc, my biggest complaint was that sometimes hopes, dreams and fears of my patients got ignored by A.I.

The tech will get better, and we'll face new challenges as more places adopt A.I. But this guinea pig feels optimistic.

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Nathan Gray is an assistant professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and an artist who draws comics on medical topics. @NathanAGray

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