Volume 75 Number 2

The Impact of Artificial Intelligence: Beyond the OR

Artificial intelligence (AI), where machines employ algorithms to reason and perform functions, including problem-solving and decision-making, is rapidly finding a foothold in the practice of medicine. The specialties of radiology, cardiology and surgery are already using AI applications. The intersection of perioperative medicine, intensive care, pain management and operating room anesthetic care suggests opportunities for AI use in the field of anesthesiology as well. The field may benefit from AI, including in applications that may give us better information to improve patient care, like depth of anesthesia monitoring, control of anesthesia delivery, event prediction, ultrasound guidance, pain management and operating room management logistics.¹

Those of you who know me know that I am incredibly risk-averse. So, naturally, I will encourage us to consider the potential negative ramifications of the widespread use of AI in its unregulated, free-form current state.

The use of AI in the real world has shown promise to change the world as we know it. We in medicine, however, likely should look at the story of AI perhaps as a cautionary tale.

In this issue of Sphere, our colleague Dr. Ellen Brand conveys an alarming tale of how bad actors are using the latest technology to assist them in their nefarious activities. In the past, thieves pretending to be authority figures used phone calls to strangers to achieve their goals. With the advent of AI, however, these scenarios are becoming even more disturbing.

In March, the Federal Trade Commission issued a consumer alert about the more widespread use of AI in phone scams. The scammer needs only a short clip of a voice, easily taken from online content, to create a voice clone of a beloved family member. One such example recently in the news involves the story of a mom who was convinced that the voice she heard sobbing on the line was that of her daughter. She was only convinced that it wasn’t her daughter’s voice when her daughter called her on the other line and told her that she was safely in bed on her ski trip. Cloning the sound of a voice such that a mother cannot tell it’s not her own child clearly shows how the power of AI can be used by those who wish to harm.

As we progress with the use of new technology, including in the field of medicine, hopefully we can harness the benefits of said technology while remaining mindful of its potential for misuse.

One more note before I leave you to the rest of our Sphere content. Our community recently lost a beloved and revered anesthesiologist: Dr. Rebecca Twersky. As an active member of the Society for Ambulatory Anesthesia (SAMBA), I have seen firsthand the remarkable impact Dr. Twersky made on our specialty. The Ambulatory Surgery Unit at Long Island College Hospital was a model she developed well before its time. During the recent SAMBA conference in Phoenix, it was touching to hear about the positive influence Dr. Twersky had on so many: as a past president of SAMBA; as the leader of the annual meetings for both the NYSSA and the ASA; and as a clinician, researcher and mentor. I am well aware that women like me who lead ambulatory surgery units do so only after following in the great footsteps of those like Dr. Twersky. Her legacy will surely live on, and she will never be forgotten.