“It’s showtime!” Michael Keaton says that in the first Beetlejuice movie which was many things – but mostly proof that Michael Keaton is an incredibly talented and versatile actor. The fact that he is convincing as both a creepy sort-of dead ghost, Batman, and Mr. Mom kind of says it all. What’s also impressive is his longevity – evidenced by the fact that the sequel to the 1988 film Beetlejuice is premiering this weekend – with the original director and cast (Tim Burton, 73-year-old Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, and Bob, the shrunken-head guy). The trigger to getting the dead to rise in this movie is repeating the name Beetlejuice, and it feels like we are repeating ourselves on the topic of health AI in the policy world too. Just like Tim Burton, we are going to run with it, as explained below in the One Thoughtful Paragraph.
Some news highlights from this week that we hope will not be repeated anytime soon:
- Race-based algorithms are still widely used in medicine despite some tools negatively impacting Black patients, according to a STAT News.
- A discredited study, published in 2020, that used a form of AI to discover microbial DNA indicative of particular cancers, demonstrates the pitfalls of using AI when it is used to assist with scientific data analysis. The Wall Street Journal reported on this study that was retracted this past June showing that a blood test using this AI could diagnose cancer by detecting certain microbes. Before the study was discredited, the new and clinically significant finding attracted investors and ~600 research papers relied on it.
- HHS decided not to appeal its loss in the case against the American Hospital Association (AHA) regarding the enforcement of a potential HIPAA violation related to online tracking technologies. This decision finalizes the AHA’s victory, allowing hospitals to use these technologies, as the court ruled that HHS had exceeded its authority under HIPAA.
“I’ve seen the Exorcist about 167 times and it keeps getting funnier every single time I see it.” Repetitiveness is a theme of Beetlejuice, as evidenced by this hilarious line delivered by the great Michael Keaton. We are repeating ourselves about health AI policy too. We all agree that health AI is a very big deal. We all agree that health AI models need to be safe and tested. We all agree that it needs to be regulated. And yet, the Brookings Institution decided this should all be written down again, so they did that here. At some level, we appreciate the reminder that health AI tools should be pilot tested before large scale deployment, that they should be user-friendly, and that we must do everything we can to avoid medical misinformation. At another level, do we really need another Beetlejuice movie? We know he’s the “ghost with the most” but we’re ready for a fresh idea in policy or Hollywood.
