Reacción a "Two AI models demonstrate their potential for patient management using simulations and real-world data"

The Ferber et al and Lievin et al papers provide welcome evidence about potential clinical uses of large language models (LLMs). It is easy to be captivated by headline claims that these kinds of LLMs ‘outperform doctors’ but the devil, as always, is in the detail.  Both studies are based on simulation – Ferber et al on simulated chat created from patient notes, the second on exam formats that use actors to replicate medical scenarios for the purpose of training and assessing doctors. This is some remove from the messy, complex, human world of everyday healthcare.

“Both studies demonstrate that LLMs can mimic some aspects of experienced physician performance, but crucially both concede that while there may be promise here, much more research is needed before these LLMs can, or should, be deployed in the real world. The point - made well - in in the Ferber et al piece is that use in the real world will need to be in partnership with clinicians: these technologies are unlikely to replace doctors, and many will contend that they crucially do not and cannot substitute for the essential human aspects of care.