A GP Clinic was referred to AHPRA for using AI to handle customer enquiries. You won't believe what went wrong...
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Getting things done quickly and efficiently seems to be the utmost priority for everyone in the modern world, especially when it comes to the medical industry.
This drive for efficiency is of course, commendable, but it also carries a lot of risks, as one Aussie GP clinic recently discovered.
The clinic, located in Melbourne, had decided to use an Artificial Intelligence (AI) driven language processor program called ChatGPT to help them keep up with their increasing workload as well as respond to patient complaints and enquiries.
It seemed like a great idea at the time; however, it was only a matter of days before things went south.
According to Dr Bridget Colander, the doctor in charge, one of their admin staff had accidentally clicked 'write response in the style of a Shakespearean sonnet' and the AI on their computer immediately went into overdrive, writing responses to patients that had been formed in the style of the famous English playwright.
ChatGPT reportedly generated some poetic responses to the complaints raised by patients.
One patient, who Complained about rising gap fees, received the following response:
'Alas penny pincher,
’tis true the cost doth rise,
Like the tide upon the shore,
it never dies,
But fear not,
for in the hands of a skilled physician,
Thy health and wellbeing
shall be the true mission.'
Imagine being on the receiving end of that!
In response to a complaint from another patient who was annoyed their itchy haemorrhoids were not being taken seriously, ChatGPT fired back with some rather top-notch rhymes:
'Oh, fair patient, do not let thy itch be in vain,
Though the physician may have not recognised thy pain,
Take heed and seek a second opinion,
For ’tis utmost importance not to let thy ailment fester
For haemorrhoids and piles are thin gruel for the Jester.'
As Dr Colander stated, some patients found the responses 'delightful', while others sent them straight off to AHPRA (the Australian Health Practitioner Regulatory Agency) – who were not too thrilled, we might add.
With that in mind SDC members, it's important to always take extra care when dealing with technology, and double check all settings to avoid embarrassing blunders of your own.
ChatGPT or ‘Chat Generalised Pre-trained Transformer’ is a cutting edge artificial intelligence (AI) language model capable of producing written responses to human-generated demands. It uses machine learning algorithms that allow it to identify patterns within text to generate answers of its own. That’s a lot of technobabble to us, but basically it means that ChatGPT is unique in its ability to ‘understand’ natural language and is able to take on and mimic the 'style' of its input in order to generate a more fitting answer.
The technology behind this particular language model was first developed in 2020 and has been tested as a research tool for language understanding, dialogue generation and text summarisation. One of its main uses is to quickly respond to inquiries when natural dialogue between humans is not possible. This can help to reduce communication barriers and save time. As an example, ChatGPT may be used to respond to customer service inquiries, which would remove the time wasted waiting for a human response and the need for additional customer service staff.
The ChatGPT language model can also be used to generate creative language such as poetry, songs, jokes and more, as demonstrated in its use at the medical practice in Melbourne. In this instance, AI technology is being used to ease the workload of clinicians and to interact with patients. As AI technology continues to advance, we're likely to see more applications such as this that offer augmented intelligence, rather than replacing humans.
In the spirit of investigative journalism, we asked ChatGPT if it would ‘write a Shakesperian sonnet letting the members of the Seniors Discount Club how wonderful they are’, and this was the reply:
‘Shall I, dear seniors, in verse immortal,
Declare the worth of your deserving years?
Your lives, like tomes, with stories grand, so swell,
That ages hence, your deeds shall bring some tears.
The wisdom that you’ve gathered from life's course
So rich, so full, a wealth beyond compare,
Your gentle hearts, a guiding, shining force,
That shines as bright as the sun in the air.
Oh, how you've grown in grace and dignity,
With time, you've honed the art of being kind,
A gentle spirit, ever so serene,
That in a world so loud, still manages to shine.
So here's a sonnet to my seniors fair,
A tribute to your life, and all you share.’
Well, we couldn’t have put it better ourselves! If you’d like to have a play around with ChatGPT yourself, you can sign up for a free account here.
Be sure to let us know if you get any interesting responses!
This drive for efficiency is of course, commendable, but it also carries a lot of risks, as one Aussie GP clinic recently discovered.
The clinic, located in Melbourne, had decided to use an Artificial Intelligence (AI) driven language processor program called ChatGPT to help them keep up with their increasing workload as well as respond to patient complaints and enquiries.
It seemed like a great idea at the time; however, it was only a matter of days before things went south.
According to Dr Bridget Colander, the doctor in charge, one of their admin staff had accidentally clicked 'write response in the style of a Shakespearean sonnet' and the AI on their computer immediately went into overdrive, writing responses to patients that had been formed in the style of the famous English playwright.
ChatGPT reportedly generated some poetic responses to the complaints raised by patients.
One patient, who Complained about rising gap fees, received the following response:
'Alas penny pincher,
’tis true the cost doth rise,
Like the tide upon the shore,
it never dies,
But fear not,
for in the hands of a skilled physician,
Thy health and wellbeing
shall be the true mission.'
Imagine being on the receiving end of that!
We're not sure how Shakespeare would feel about being quoted for medical advice. Credit: OpenAI
In response to a complaint from another patient who was annoyed their itchy haemorrhoids were not being taken seriously, ChatGPT fired back with some rather top-notch rhymes:
'Oh, fair patient, do not let thy itch be in vain,
Though the physician may have not recognised thy pain,
Take heed and seek a second opinion,
For ’tis utmost importance not to let thy ailment fester
For haemorrhoids and piles are thin gruel for the Jester.'
As Dr Colander stated, some patients found the responses 'delightful', while others sent them straight off to AHPRA (the Australian Health Practitioner Regulatory Agency) – who were not too thrilled, we might add.
With that in mind SDC members, it's important to always take extra care when dealing with technology, and double check all settings to avoid embarrassing blunders of your own.
ChatGPT or ‘Chat Generalised Pre-trained Transformer’ is a cutting edge artificial intelligence (AI) language model capable of producing written responses to human-generated demands. It uses machine learning algorithms that allow it to identify patterns within text to generate answers of its own. That’s a lot of technobabble to us, but basically it means that ChatGPT is unique in its ability to ‘understand’ natural language and is able to take on and mimic the 'style' of its input in order to generate a more fitting answer.
The technology behind this particular language model was first developed in 2020 and has been tested as a research tool for language understanding, dialogue generation and text summarisation. One of its main uses is to quickly respond to inquiries when natural dialogue between humans is not possible. This can help to reduce communication barriers and save time. As an example, ChatGPT may be used to respond to customer service inquiries, which would remove the time wasted waiting for a human response and the need for additional customer service staff.
The ChatGPT language model can also be used to generate creative language such as poetry, songs, jokes and more, as demonstrated in its use at the medical practice in Melbourne. In this instance, AI technology is being used to ease the workload of clinicians and to interact with patients. As AI technology continues to advance, we're likely to see more applications such as this that offer augmented intelligence, rather than replacing humans.
In the spirit of investigative journalism, we asked ChatGPT if it would ‘write a Shakesperian sonnet letting the members of the Seniors Discount Club how wonderful they are’, and this was the reply:
‘Shall I, dear seniors, in verse immortal,
Declare the worth of your deserving years?
Your lives, like tomes, with stories grand, so swell,
That ages hence, your deeds shall bring some tears.
The wisdom that you’ve gathered from life's course
So rich, so full, a wealth beyond compare,
Your gentle hearts, a guiding, shining force,
That shines as bright as the sun in the air.
Oh, how you've grown in grace and dignity,
With time, you've honed the art of being kind,
A gentle spirit, ever so serene,
That in a world so loud, still manages to shine.
So here's a sonnet to my seniors fair,
A tribute to your life, and all you share.’
Well, we couldn’t have put it better ourselves! If you’d like to have a play around with ChatGPT yourself, you can sign up for a free account here.
Be sure to let us know if you get any interesting responses!
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