Artificial Intelligence and Learned Intermediaries
In the July 7, 2017, “Artificial Intelligence” issue of Science, we were intrigued by a short piece in the “Insights” section on “Artificial Intelligence in Research” that discussed the future use of autonomous robots in surgery. Surgeonless surgery would “allow[] work around the clock with higher productivity, accuracy, and efficiency as well as shorter hospital stays and faster recovery.” Science, at 28. The listed drawbacks were: “technical difficulties in the midst of a surgery,” the “loss of relevance of surgeons,” and “how to equip artificial intelligence with tools to handle . . . inherent moral responsibility.” Id. Fascinating. In addition to driverless cars, do we also need to contemplate surgeonless surgery? We’ve long been aware of the advent of robots as an adjunct to surgery. Bexis filed a (largely unsuccessful) PLAC amicus brief in Taylor v. Intuitive Surgical, Inc., 389 P.3d 517 (Wash. 2017), but the surgical robot in Taylor in no way threatened to displace the surgeon, and the applicability (if not application) of the learned intermediary rule in Taylor was undisputed. Id. at 526-28. We checked the Internet, and sure enough there were plenty of articles from reputable sources: “Completely automated robotic surgery: on the horizon?” (Reuters) “Autonomous Robot Surgeon…
Link to Full Article: Artificial Intelligence and Learned Intermediaries
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