Doctors warned to embrace AI or risk losing jobs to tech

Medical practitioners have been warned to embrace digital medical practices, otherwise they risk falling behind and potentially losing their jobs to the latest technological advancements.

This message was clearly communicated by experts and veteran practitioners during workshops at the three-day World Health Expo at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Johannesburg, ending today.

Experts emphasise doctors must adapt to tech and AI

The experts emphasised that doctors must adapt to technology and not shy away from using AI as a medical companion.

The panel of international experts discussed various ways in which AI will assist in medical practice.

AI will not take doctors’ jobs, provided they embrace it and use it to enhance their work. It only threatens those who resist adopting new technologies.

“You must remember that digital tools and AI will replace the jobs of nurses, doctors and physiotherapists who do not know how to use them. If you lack these skills, you will become redundant.

“The challenge for us is to become digitally literate so we can fully realise the benefits of AI,” said a Zimbabwean doctor.

AI will not take doctors’ jobs

“We need to understand that this is a different language and it requires us to improve our digital literacy.”

AI should not be viewed as a disruptor but rather as a necessary enhancement to medical practice and communication in the medical field.

The panellists generally agreed that regulation has been slow to catch up with rapidly advancing innovations. New developments regularly enter the market, while regulatory frameworks lag behind, raising concerns about patient safety and health.

However, some expressed concern that while regulation is essential for control, excessive regulation could hinder technological advancement. They suggested finding a balance between regulation and innovation to ensure progress is not stifled.

Some audience members voiced concerns that AI and technology in general could marginalise traditional healers and isolate traditional medicine.

Concerns AI, tech could marginalise traditional healers

In South Africa, collaboration between traditional healers and Western medical practitioners has proven beneficial, but AI could disrupt this collaborative relationship.

This sparked a suggestion that traditional healers must also engage with technology to preserve their close ties with Western practitioners and researchers.

There was a strong call for AI literacy in traditional medical practices, as there are worries about losing traditional knowledge to AI and the potential threat it poses to African identity.