2025: Not the Year of AI Replacing the Doctor

At Tia, we’ve long understood a seemingly simple truth: women want someONE, not someTHING, to manage their health. The irony here is palpable. Should it really be an insight that human beings want another human to help them understand their own human bodies? And yet, in a world increasingly dominated by algorithms, this foundational truth feels almost revolutionary.

Let’s be honest—when it comes to our body parts, organs, and the occasional inexplicable rash, isn’t it perfectly natural to crave the guidance of someone who shares in the chaos of being human? No one has ever looked at their throbbing knee or existential dread and thought, “You know what I need right now? A chat with a chatbot.”

AI’s Role: Making Care More Human

Contrary to popular fears, artificial intelligence isn’t here to replace the doctor. Instead, its true promise lies in making healthcare more human, not less. Imagine a world where AI takes on the Sisyphean task of automating the paperwork, phone calls, and administrative hurdles that bog down our healthcare system.

Think about it: AI that schedules appointments, pre-populates medical records, and eliminates the dreaded game of insurance phone tag. AI that ensures your provider has instant access to the latest clinical recommendations. That kind of AI is a dream—not a dystopia.

But let’s get to the heart of it: healthcare isn’t just about diagnostics and treatments. It’s about what it’s like to be the person living in a body or mind that’s suffering. It’s about caring. And while AI can do a lot of things, it cannot care. (Unless you want to argue that AI has feelings or some sense of 'what it’s like to be an AI robot' aka it's conscious—in which case, email me. I’m fascinated, let’s talk.)

The Healing Power of Human Connection

The desire for human connection in healthcare isn’t just sentimental—it’s science. Studies show that empathy and belief in a patient’s recovery can significantly influence outcomes. There’s a reason we talk about “healing hands.” If you haven’t already, check out the book Placebo. It’s a fascinating deep dive into how human touch and connection play critical roles in the healing process.

Can AI provide “healing hands” in the future? Maybe. But today, we’re not there. Most of us are still pleading for fewer automated customer service interactions, not more. (If I have to tell one more AI chat agent that my problem isn’t covered in their script…)

Doctors Are Here to Stay

It seems almost absurd to say this, but here we are: the doctor is not being replaced anytime soon. The answer to provider shortages and burnout isn’t to assume that the profession can be boiled down to a series of low-level, algorithmic decisions and mass data collection. Serving the growing disease burden in this country requires freeing up providers and care teams to do what they do best: provide and care.

In a world where the Surgeon General warns that our biggest health threat is a loss of community, healthcare providers have a unique opportunity to be more than just medical professionals. They can be touchstones of connection, sources of belonging, and fountains of care. That’s why the idea of replacing them with AI is not just unlikely; it’s antithetical to the very nature of healthcare itself.

So let’s step into 2025 with optimism for what AI can do—and a firm commitment to what it shouldn’t replace. Because healthcare is, and always will be, a profoundly human endeavor.