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How one patient found errors in the algorithm making transplant decisions

ft.com

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Re: How one patient found errors in the algorithm making transplant decisions

#5
post #4

Just finished reading this, I get why it's done but its really tragic and sad that an algorithm is deciding who lives or dies. Could you imagine working on something like that? I don't think I'd have the stomach.

You are correct. Those of us with moral values avoid this kind of work. Only the sociopaths do this kind of work. They only care about gaining power.

Maybe genetically modified pig organs will eliminate the supply shortfall in organs and get rid of the power trip these jokers enjoy so much.

Re: How one patient found errors in the algorithm making transplant decisions

#6
post #4

Just finished reading this, I get why it's done but its really tragic and sad that an algorithm is deciding who lives or dies. Could you imagine working on something like that? I don't think I'd have the stomach.

I'm glad and don't see better solution than to use an algorithm to decide this over personnal choice. I understand the choice of using software. What I don't understand is why this software is not open source, heavily documented and the algorithm annually monitored, publicly reported and updated if necessessary by an open committee.

I personally prefer avoid being involved as much as possible in human life and death inducing procedure because that awfully stressful, but I don't see big problem on working on the software coding itself. What is problematic in this case is that the software was used to deinvolve everyone from the process and for what I understand the software developpement team was apparently tasked to make up the decision algorihtm and no human basic oversight was keeped during the attribution process.

Re: How one patient found errors in the algorithm making transplant decisions

#7
post #4

Just finished reading this, I get why it's done but its really tragic and sad that an algorithm is deciding who lives or dies. Could you imagine working on something like that? I don't think I'd have the stomach.

At a recent physical, my doctor informed me that "according to the drug company's algorithm" I should begin taking a cholesterol reducing drug. I had to wonder about the transparency of such an approach.

Re: How one patient found errors in the algorithm making transplant decisions

#8
post #4

Just finished reading this, I get why it's done but its really tragic and sad that an algorithm is deciding who lives or dies. Could you imagine working on something like that? I don't think I'd have the stomach.

Does it matter whether it is a bureaucrat executing the algorithm with paper or software on a computer? The issue must be decided somehow.

Re: How one patient found errors in the algorithm making transplant decisions

#9
post #8
post #4

Just finished reading this, I get why it's done but its really tragic and sad that an algorithm is deciding who lives or dies. Could you imagine working on something like that? I don't think I'd have the stomach.

Does it matter whether it is a bureaucrat executing the algorithm with paper or software on a computer? The issue must be decided somehow.

At least there’s a hope the person doing it has conscience and does a good job, vetting the data, etc. They could use tech but in the end it’s a human’s decision over an algo. Casual mistakes are okay as long as they’re not embedded in an algo that applies the same mistakes over and over.

Re: How one patient found errors in the algorithm making transplant decisions

#10
I didn't get it from the article, even through it was written by the artificial intelligence editor, did the algorithm use some machine learning something technique or is it a manually programmed calculator? Although in both cases it seems it has gone through a lot of the stuff that can wrong with this sort of thing.
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