AI tools for breast cancer detection fall short of radiologists' expectations

AI tools for breast cancer detection aren't living up to expectations. A survey published in Clinical Imaging of 215 members of the Society of Breast Imaging found that about half already use FDA-approved AI tools, and 11 percent plan to. But according to lead author Joud Almogati at UC San Diego Health, only a few consider AI a deciding factor.

The tools help, just not as much as radiologists hoped. Only 35 percent report lower recall rates (59 percent expected them), 9 percent see fewer unnecessary biopsies (36 percent expected that), and 29 percent report less burnout (56 percent expected relief). Most view AI mainly as a second opinion. Costs and lack of institutional support remain the biggest barriers.

The AI industry may have set itself up for this gap. Prominent AI researchers predicted about ten years ago that radiologists would soon lose their jobs. Similar claims are making the rounds again, this time about knowledge work on computers. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has called this kind of prediction a "God complex" among the prophets of AI-driven job loss.

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