AI in medicine: Doctors are likely to quickly lose skills in cancer screening
If doctors only use AI technology for colonoscopies for a few months, their success rate in searching for signs of cancer will drop.
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Doctors who are supported by AI technology in the search for tumors that indicate cancer are significantly less successful after just a few months than before the technology was used. This is the finding of a recent study from Poland, the authors of which are therefore calling for the consequences of introducing AI support to be "carefully examined". Those responsible speak of "deskilling", i.e. the loss of competence ("skill"). The effect was found in doctors with a lot of experience, so it could be even greater in newcomers. One of the researchers involved also believes that the effect could increase as the performance of AI increases.
Many questions still unanswered
For the study, the success rate of colonoscopies in the search for tumors that could indicate cancer was determined at four endoscopy centers in Poland. This was done once before a test was carried out to support AI in this work and once afterwards. According to the paper, after the experienced physicians used AI assistance, their success rate in detecting adenomas fell "significantly". The difference amounted to more than 20 percent. This suggests a "negative influence" of AI-assisted colonoscopy on the behavior of endoscopists, according to the study, which was published in the journal The Lancet Gastroenterology and Hepatology.
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The study is the first clinical evidence of the effect of deskilling in real-life clinical practice, explains Omer Ahmad from University College London in a commentary accompanying the publication. It also indicates that previous studies on the performance of AI technology in medicine have already been falsified by this effect. It must now be determined whether the effect generally occurs and whether it can be reversed. The fact that AI is able to subtly change people's attention and perception "makes this revolutionary technology something very special". Even if the technology continues to have great potential, it is important to guard against the "quiet erosion" of fundamental skills.
(mho)
