[James N. Weinstein & Ogan Gurel] The medical question that AI can't ever answer

One of us got a call last spring from a longtime friend.

The story was familiar: two doctors, an MRI, an online artificial intelligence tool, a stack of articles — and one anxious question.

“Everything tells me something different.

The AI says I might need surgery.

What should I do?” We believe there’s one key response to anyone in this all-too-common conundrum: “What matters most to you?” There was a long pause.

That pause is one of the most important moments in modern health care — and it is e ...