Blaise Tapp: Is OK to be wary of AI, but we can’t ignore its benefits

As someone who was brought up on the first two Terminator films - I lost interest in the series halfway through the third one - I have long been terrified of the prospect of Skynet becoming a bleak reality as I don’t fancy living underground, hiding from a near-invincible foe. I have enough difficulty hiding from the kids.

Then there is job security, as it’s long been said that a semi-trained monkey could churn out my drivel, so I have little or no chance if AI writing programmes are truly embraced by bosses, who are fed up with pacifying overweight, balding divas who are prone to more than the occasional typo. I suppose I should be grateful that this isn't my day job.

Fearing innovation is nothing new - we all remember the slightly dotty old relatives from the ‘80s who refused to have a microwave in the house - and while the possible implications of creating a next level technology such as AI should not be ignored, we should embrace the very many opportunities it presents.

One is the way that AI is already being used in the NHS, with the prospect that its use will be widened across hospitals and clinics across the land by the end of the year.

It is planned that, by the end of 2023, stroke services across the country will use AI tools to help doctors diagnose strokes more quickly. It’s also been reported that the Government is also keen to use AI tools to analyse chest X-rays as part of lung cancer diagnosis.

It is stressed that this technology, which is being paid for by a pot of Government cash, will be another tool for trained medical professionals to use - there’s no suggestion that we’ll be booking an appointment to see Nurse Metal Micky anytime soon There will be some who will be troubled by the news that 21st Century technologies will be determining what treatment if any they might receive in the future, but the fact is that our health service needs all the help it can get.

Waiting lists remain obscenely long and if you weren’t poorly enough before you tried to book an appointment with your GP, it’s highly likely you’ll feel even lousier by the time you’ve endured the tedium of trying to get through to a harassed receptionist, or care navigator, as they are now known.

Rightly or wrongly, I’ve long taken the view that doctors and nurses are there for those who really are very unwell and if I can cure an ailment with a hot toddy or something stronger bought over-the-counter then I will. This approach might backfire on me in the long run but it has worked for me so far.

However, I have still had cause to visit hospital on several occasions recently and they seem to be as busy as they have been. During a visit to A&E last week, the number of patients on trollies in corridors was a genuine shock, even though we know it is a fact of life.

The sight of ill people being forced to endure the indignity of waiting for treatment in the full glare of the visiting public was hard to take and more than one person used the phrase ‘it’s like something you’d see in a Third World Country’ to describe the scene.

The NHS turned 75 this month and genuinely is the nation’s crowning glory and is one of the few reasons why I will puff out my chest with patriotic pride. However, we know all about its shortcomings and while highly skilled and committed people will remain at the heart of the service, we mustn’t forget that technology will play over the next 75 years.

There is nothing wrong with being wary of AI but it may just save lives.