Editor at TechForge Media. Often sighted at global tech conferences with a coffee in one hand and laptop in the other. If it's geeky, I'm probably into it.











Google has unveiled a new AI which it believes can predict if and when a patient is going to die more reliably than doctors.

The algorithm can quickly access a patient’s medical records for important data which could indicate the likelihood of their survival.

Death comes for us all, the best we can hope for is that it’s later rather than sooner and we get the chance to say goodbye. Google’s AI would reduce the chances of a death occurring suddenly while in the care of a hospital.

A report from Bloomberg highlights the case of a woman with cancer who arrived at hospital with fluid in her lungs. The doctors gave her a 9.3 percent chance of dying at the hospital while Google’s algorithm put her chances higher at 19.9 percent.

The woman sadly died a few days later.

Google’s algorithm is clearly not perfect, but it was over twice as accurate as the doctors. Over time it will undoubtedly improve as it’s exposed to more data.

Medical professionals were impressed by Google’s ability to sift through data such as notes buried in PDFs, or scribbled on old charts. The time freed up for patient care is worth it alone.

The company’s technology is able to do more than just predict impending doom, it can also forecast “a host of patient outcomes, including how long people may stay in hospitals,” and “their odds of readmission” so hospitals can make better-informed care decisions.

Many of us have come across those stupid ‘Find out when you’re going to die’ Facebook quizzes, you can bet Google’s AI is at least more reliable than those.

You can find more of our AI in healthcare content here.

What are your thoughts on Google’s death-predicting AI? Let us know in the comments.

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