Will doctors lose their jobs as artificial intelligence develops?

'We still hear that when AI develops, doctors will lose their jobs. We don't think so, but doctors using AI will replace doctors who don't use AI,' Associate Professor Nguyen Viet Nhung, former Director of the Central Lung Hospital, shared.

AI doubles efficiency in detecting tuberculosis

Today, March 1, Hanoi National University in collaboration with Tsinghua University - a leading university in China, organized an international conference "Vietnam - China Higher Education: Opportunities and challenges of higher education in the 21st century - the era of digital intelligence".

The workshop is a forum for scientists from the two universities to share and discuss development opportunities for higher education in the era of explosive growth of artificial intelligence (AI).

Associate Professor Nguyen Viet Nhung: "We are not afraid of doctors losing their jobs, but of doctors using AI replacing doctors who do not use AI"

At the workshop, Associate Professor Nguyen Viet Nhung, Head of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Medicine and Pharmacy - Vietnam National University, Hanoi, former Director of the Central Lung Hospital, said that many years ago, in Vietnam, the government had a national program KC 4.0 to promote research and application of AI in medicine.

According to Associate Professor Nguyen Viet Nhung, Vietnam now has deep learning software to support the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis based on chest X-ray images. When using this software, the doctor enters images that meet technical standards, then the software will process and give results. The software's predictions are over 95% accurate.

The application of AI has doubled the effectiveness of early detection of tuberculosis compared to before the application of AI. AI technology is attached to X-ray machines and has software to support reading X-ray films. AI will help doctors find patients suspected of having tuberculosis based on the lesions. From there, doctors will prescribe more accurate tuberculosis bacteria tests.

"Many years ago, at the Central Lung Hospital, I was the head of a research project on applying AI in diagnosing and predicting the epidemiology of pulmonary tuberculosis, based on Vietnam's data. We own a database of 30,018 X-ray films that meet technical standards for pulmonary tuberculosis labeling. This data is currently publicly available throughout the country," said Associate Professor Nguyen Viet Nhung.

Doctors and AI engineers need to 'speak with one voice'

According to Associate Professor Nguyen Viet Nhung, AI is considered the key to the future of healthcare, bringing breakthroughs in diagnosis, treatment, and disease prevention. However, one of the current challenges is the lack of interdisciplinary connection, especially in training, between health sciences and technology and engineering.

"Doctors do not know about AI, and AI engineers do not know about medical work. To develop the health sciences industry (in training, research as well as medical examination and treatment), it is essential that doctors and AI engineers have the "same voice", meaning that both sides must understand each other's work, to help each other create technological tools that effectively support doctors. Therefore, interdisciplinary training for doctors and AI engineers is an extremely important solution," said Associate Professor Nguyen Viet Nhung.

Associate Professor Nguyen Viet Nhung added: "We still hear that when AI develops, doctors will lose their jobs. We don't think so, but rather doctors using AI will replace doctors who don't use AI."

Associate Professor Nguyen Viet Nhung also expressed his desire to cooperate with Tsinghua University in researching and training medical AI human resources. The form of cooperation could be training doctors to use AI through short-term courses, through which Vietnamese doctors can learn about data analysis and basic AI applications; Vietnamese AI engineers can learn about medical knowledge and effective AI design.

Cooperation between the two sides is also carried out through student exchange programs, postgraduate research, etc. There are cooperation programs for Tsinghua University graduate students to practice at Vietnamese hospitals, and Vietnamese students to access advanced AI technology at Tsinghua University.

According to Associate Professor Nguyen Viet Nhung, the "ardent wish" of the University of Medicine and Pharmacy - Vietnam National University, Hanoi is to have a medical simulation center for pre-clinical training. Currently, clinical training for medical students is almost exclusively conducted in hospitals. Students directly learning on patients carries many risks and is currently facing difficulties due to the implementation of the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment.

"According to international medical training standards, preclinical training is training in simulation models. Learning through simulation allows students to make mistakes and repeat themselves many times, only then can they improve quickly," Associate Professor Nguyen Viet Nhung shared.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/lieu-bac-si-co-bi-mat-viec-khi-tri-tue-nhan-tao-phat-trien-185250301203855233.htm