Making Daily Headlines · Page 5
Researchers Ask Whether a Face Can Add to the Medical Picture
· New York time
U.S. researchers say artificial intelligence may help doctors assess how ill a patient is from a single photograph of the person's face. The possibility remains a research proposition, with the proposed tool assisting clinical judgment rather than making an ordinary photograph a medical verdict. The useful idea is that an image might contain information that supports a doctor's assessment. That assigns the technology a more specific job than replacing medical care with a camera and a confident progress bar. If such tools prove useful, their value would depend on how well they support real decisions rather than how surprising the demonstration looks. A system that attracts attention because it needs only one picture still has to earn trust for the conclusion it produces. The everyday absurdity is easy to imagine. People already spend time choosing photographs that suggest they are rested, organized and delighted to attend professional events. A clinical tool would have a very different assignment from maintaining that carefully managed impression. The research belongs in medicine rather than the profile-picture contest. Its promise is an additional source of evidence for clinicians, not a reason for the camera to begin wearing a white coat.
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