AI can now detect lung, breast, brain, skin and cervical cancer. But in the world of medical AI, figuring out when to rely on experts versus algorithms is still tricky. It’s not simply a matter of who is “better” at making a diagnosis or prediction. Factors like how much time medical professionals have and their level of expertise also come into play. To address this, researchers from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL) developed a machine learning system that can decide to either make a prediction or defer to an expert.
Most importantly, the system can adapt when and how often it defers to a human expert, based on that teammate’s availability, experience and scope of practice. For instance, in a busy hospital setting, the system may ask for human assistance only when it’s absolutely necessary.