There is a decent amount of AI in use now, and it's often working. We can choose to not trust it, and most of us won't for a looong time, but that doesn't change the fact that it's being used.
I was using a software program installed by our corp to quick-read my rads at one of my previous jobs, and it was right maaaaybe 90% of the time when compared to the radiologist report I'd get 1-3 days later (if we are assuming the radiologist is right 100% of the time). And that was with 2020-2022 AI, which is the equivalent of 100 year old technology with how quickly AI is evolving. The times I can recall it being 'wrong' were complicated by poor imaging technique, or things so grossly abnormal that even I didn't know exactly what I was looking at.
We have machines that can do CBCs, cytologies, fecals, blood smears, urinalysis with sediment, etc. Some offer at least some degree of interpretation. All that these machines need is a software upgrade to offer full interpretations and prescription recommendations. It seems it wouldn't be hard for someone with a tech brain to come up with a program that can read a patient's chart, know preexisting conditions/allergies/etc, and spit out an entire 30min office visit within 5 minutes of analyzing and interpreting samples. While also generating a medical record at the same time, setting the bill, and generating a follow-up call or email. The tech is absolutely there, it's just up to how well it can be applied to us and how soon. That's also just considering SA med...research, LA med, etc have even more applications to consider.
The only things I can't really see AI readily taking over at some point would be surgery (no one in vet med is going to pay for a surgery robot), physical exam/sample collection, and nursing care for more obvious reasons. The argument that AI cannot make fast decisions, understand nuances of medicine, whatever is not going to last much longer imo because the AI we have today learns and adapts. It will never be perfect, but neither are we.
Veterinarians increasingly are embracing artificial intelligence (AI) to improve practice efficiency and clinical outcomes. How veterinarians are using AI and its potential to transform veterinary medicine were discussed at a recent symposium at Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine.
www.avma.org