Artificial intelligence is quietly transforming medicine in ways few could have imagined just a few years ago. From diagnosing rare diseases to predicting heart attacks decades in advance, AI is giving us a “check engine light” for our own bodies. In this week’s feature, we explore how new tools—some as simple as a smartphone or wearable—are helping people take control of their health long before symptoms appear.
We track asteroids in outer space better than we track trouble inside our own bodies.
37-year-old Joseph Coates, for example, has a rare blood disorder called POEMS syndrome. He was told to choose where he wanted to die. But a rare-disease doctor in Philadelphia used a custom-built AI system to search for new cures hidden inside old drugs. The model trawled the medical universe and surfaced a cocktail of drugs no one had ever tried.
Joseph tried it, and he’s now in remission. Treating diseases is one thing. But what if we could use AI to prevent them altogether? We can. The vast majority of human health problems are fixable if we know about them early enough.
My Whoop health tracker bracelet gives me a tiny preview of this future. My skin temperature often spikes 1-2 days before I feel sick. Now imagine receiving a warning like that years in advance for serious health problems. Not just “you slept badly,” but a data-driven wake-up call:
Your heart attack risk is rising.
Book a scan now.
Cardiovascular disease, aka heart attacks, is the #1 killer worldwide. It is mostly preventable if we identify the warning signs early enough. Innovators are racing to do just that. London’s Imperial College created an AI-enabled stethoscope. In a trial of 12,000 patients, it doubled diagnoses of heart failure and tripled detection of atrial fibrillation… from just 15 seconds of listening to each patient’s heartbeat! Researchers at Mass General Brigham built an AI tool that sifts through coronary CT scans and accurately estimates your 10-year heart attack risk.
Delphi-2M is a new AI model that can forecast your odds of developing 1,200+ illnesses decades in advance. Instead of predicting the next word in a sentence like ChatGPT, Delphi “reads” your health record. Then it maps your chances of developing everything from heart disease to cancers to skin and immune conditions, stretching 20 years into the future. Delphi can tell you your chances of developing diabetes by age 70 based on your diet. Or how the next 10 years of your life might go if you keep smoking, vs. if you quit.
AI already has the knowledge level of a world-class doctor. By “world-class,” I mean in the top 1% of physicians worldwide. OpenEvidence is the first AI system to score a perfect 100% on the US Medical Licensing Exam, the grueling test every doctor must pass.
OpenEvidence is already used by 40% of US physicians across 10,000+ hospitals.
AI’s #2 medical superpower is access.
With no more than a smartphone and an internet connection, you can now “chat” with a world-class doctor, 24/7/365. You don’t need a special AI model, or to book an appointment 3 months in advance, or to pay an insurance deductible.
ChatGPT already has the knowledge level of an expert doctor. It’s open to everyone. If you’re not using it yet, you’re leaving a life-improving opportunity on the table. Wearable health trackers are a big part of this story. My Whoop wristband already tracks my heart rate, sleep quality, workouts, blood oxygen, and more. Curious about my own body, I exported an entire year of my Whoop data and plugged it into ChatGPT. I asked: “What’s really going on with my body?”
It told me my resting heart rate (53 bpm) was solid and improving. But I only average about 5.4 hours of sleep a night, and my body is screaming for 8.8 hours.
We still track our cars’ health better than our own hearts. AI is starting to give us a check engine light for our bodies. The “dumb” numbers from a wristband are already becoming early warning signals you can act on.
The future of health care isn’t about hospitals buying bigger machines. It’s about individuals, you and me, choosing to use the tools already in our hands.
Here’s how.
Start by showing AI your health. Gather your test results and scans. Dump out your medicine cabinet and snap photos of every bottle.
Then tell the AI about you: your conditions, surgeries, meds and doses, allergies and family history. I use “voice mode” for this, which lets you talk to the AI instead of typing.
Once you’ve got the basics in, start asking questions: “Summarize my health in plain English. Tell me what I should be watching.”
Then you can go deeper. If you’ve had a coronary CT, ask it to analyze the image and give you a risk score.
This isn’t something you do once and forget. Create a “project” on ChatGPT with all your data you can come back to.
To be clear, AI doesn’t replace human doctors. But it is a new first line of defense that’s easy to access for everyone.
You should be asking GPT questions like: “What should I double-check with my doctor?”
Take ownership of your health.
Great Quotes
“Be sure to put your feet in the right place, then stand firm. “ – Abraham Lincoln
Picture of the Week
Baby American Black Bear
This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding your health or a medical condition. If you choose to use ChatGPT or other AI tools to explore your health, be mindful not to share personal or medical information you’d want kept private. These platforms are not covered by medical privacy laws.
All content is the opinion of Brian Decker.
