Where I've been . . .

I didn't post here for a couple of days because I've been reviewing proposals for a federal agency. I'm not allowed to say anything specific about it, but it did get me to thinking. First of all, as I've been saying here lately, federal support for basic science and innovative technology that has the character of public goods is essential to national welfare and for that matter the future of humanity. 

 

Yeah yeah, technology got us into most of this mess but it's also the only way out. Starting in the 19th Century -- well a bit before maybe but it really got going then -- humanity experienced an explosion of knowledge and technological development. But what didn't come with it was the wisdom to use it responsibly or the understanding of our place on the planet and its limitations. Now, at least some of us are starting to understand that better. (Not, unfortunately, anyone who identifies with the Republican party.)

While we need a second Great Transformation, there are some smaller transformations going on that we barely notice. One of these is in health and medicine. Telecommunications, machine learning, and artificial intelligence are starting to revolutionize diagnosis, treatment decision making and disease management, clinical communication, and personal wellness and self care. For  while now, if you wind up in the ER in the middle of the night, you X-ray may have been read by a radiologist in Australia. Soon, however, it might be a computer. The pandemic has accelerated a trend that probably would have gotten going pretty soon anyway, of remote interaction with health care providers. Technology is also just starting to revolutionize psychiatry, by finally elucidating the neurobiological basis of behavior and emotion. Machine learning is also starting to revolutionize our understanding of clinical and counseling communication.

 

There's a lot more going on, but what it adds up to is overturning everything I've spent my career studying. Very quickly it's all going to be a whole lot different, and this old dog is going to have to learn some new tricks.