AI in MS: Trying to Keep Up

AI is everywhere. It appears in the news, fills our social media feeds, and shows up with increasing frequency in the scientific papers we read. We use it to adjust the tone of our emails, to find information on almost anything - quickly and efficiently. Yet, it often feels as though it is moving faster than we can keep up.

Still, we want to keep up. We want to understand it, to feel informed, and to make meaningful use of it rather than be overwhelmed by it.

This is why we felt the need to create iAIMS: to support the MS community, clinicians, researchers, statisticians, engineers, and others in navigating the rapidly evolving landscape of AI. Through teaching courses, hackathons, journal clubs, and other initiatives, including this blog, our goal is to help each other engage critically with these changing times.

AI is a massive and disruptive revolution, often compared to the advent of the internet. We still do not know exactly where it will lead us, but it is undeniably fascinating.

Last week, I was listening to a very interesting interview on JAMA AI, in which Professor Derek C. Angus was asked about the ultimate goal of AI use in clinical practice. His answer struck me. He described an ideal integration between what a clinician knows and observes, and what an AI system (having reviewed millions of scientific articles) can suggest. The result would be fewer missed opportunities.

Imagine a world in which a diagnosis is not delayed because the right rare test was suggested at the right time. Or a clinical “buddy” that reminds you of the fourth-line treatment option after a patient has failed the first three. In many ways, this is already technically possible.

But do we trust what a chatbot tells us? Do we know its sources? Should we double-check? There is still a great deal of work to be done.

This community aims to foster curiosity, provide reliable information, and explore how AI can ultimately be used to improve patient outcomes thoughtfully, critically, and responsibly.

Here is the link to the interview, if you are interested: https://edhub.ama-assn.org/jn-learning/audio-player/19009618

See you soon!

Valeria Pozzilli
A clinician