Google's healthcare AI made up a body part – what if doctors don't notice? (www.theverge.com)

Google's recent announcement about its healthcare AI, Med-Gemini, revealed a significant flaw when the model mistakenly generated the non-existent "basilar ganglia" instead of the correct term "basal ganglia." This error, which was treated by Google as a mere typographical mistake, raises critical concerns regarding the reliability of AI in medical contexts. Misleading outputs like this have potentially dire implications, as they could go unnoticed by healthcare professionals, leading to misdiagnoses and inappropriate treatment plans. The incident highlights the urgency for the AI/ML community to address the issue of "hallucinations," where AI generates plausible but incorrect information. Experts in the field, like Dr. Maulin Shah, emphasize that reliance on AI without stringent verification processes could perpetuate errors within medical records, compounding mistakes over time. As Med-Gemini enters pilot testing in real-world settings, the healthcare industry faces a precarious threshold in adopting AI tools, demanding robust standards and vigilant oversight to ensure patient safety. The challenge remains to balance the integration of AI assistance in healthcare while maintaining a critical eye on its outputs to avert serious errors.