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A Word: Ghost in the Medical Machine

Slate News

Slate Podcasts

Politics, News, News Commentary

4.56K Ratings

🗓️ 18 February 2024

⏱️ 23 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The promise of artificial intelligence in medicine is that it can reduce the influence of human error and bias in health care. But there’s growing concern that A.I. in medicine –as in other fields– can reflect the biases and lack of diversity among its creators. And that can have life threatening consequences for African American patients. On today’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson is joined by Margo Snipe, a health reporter for CapitalB News. They discuss how A.I. can sometimes fuel medical racism, and reasons to hope that it can change. Guest: Margo Snipe, health journalist for CapitalB News Podcast production by Kristie Taiwo-Makanjuola You can skip all the ads in A Word by joining Slate Plus. Sign up now at slate.com/awordplus for $15 for your first three months. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

This is a word, a podcast from Slate. I'm your host, Jason Johnson.

0:05.0

Artificial intelligence plays a growing and largely invisible role in many of our lives.

0:11.0

But AI often reflects the biases of its creators.

0:14.4

And when AI is used in health care, the consequences can mean life and death.

0:18.8

The idea that accountability gets murky, and is it with the data and who collects the data, is it with who receives the data and makes it into some technology? Is it with the people who decide to use that technology? Is a really complicated question.

0:34.0

A.I.M. Medical Racism coming up on a word with me, Jason Johnson.

0:38.3

Stay with us. Welcome to a word, a podcast about race and politics and everything else.

0:48.0

I'm your host, Jason Johnson.

0:49.8

At its best, artificial intelligence is supposed to improve our lives and replace the

0:54.3

uneven judgment of human beings with objective data-driven problem solving. But at

1:00.1

its worse AI can mechanize and replicate the biases of the humans who created it.

1:06.2

Nowhere is that more consequential than in health care, with AI increasingly involved in deciding

1:11.4

who needs care and how it should be delivered. Racial bias in

1:15.0

our doctors offices and hospitals may be less visible, but it's just as dangerous.

1:20.4

Join us to talk about this is Margot Snipe.

1:23.0

She's the National Health Reporter for Capital B News,

1:25.0

a non-profit news site focused on the African American community.

1:29.0

Margot Snipe, welcome to a word.

1:31.0

Hello, thank you for having me.

1:33.3

So I am not a fan of AI and it's not just because I grew up, you know, watching the Matrix

1:38.3

and Terminator movies.

1:40.1

It's because I've always had some concerns about sort of the genesis of it and

...

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