16 May 2023
Experts have urged the Birmingham event that technology is unlikely to replace vets, but could “drive” them if they are not part of its development.
Allister Webb
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Image © Tierney / Adobe Stock
Veterinary professionals have been urged to be part of the discussion around the development of artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities in the sector, while maintaining “scepticism” about their applications.
Scientists working in the field have also urged vets to help them with development issues during a discussion on the subject at the BVA Live event in Birmingham.
A recent surge of interest in the potential uses of AI technology has been countered by increasingly vocal fears about its possible societal impact.
The voices of caution have also included figures who have been at the heart of developments in the field to this point.
But Alasdair Cook, professor of epidemiology and public health at the University of Surrey, warned the voices of veterinary professionals need to be raised and heard now.
He said: “AI is there. It’s happening. We need to engage with it, otherwise it will drive us, but we need to engage with it with a healthy dose of scepticism.”
Data scientist Taran Rai insisted that the technology should “augment” human inputs, rather than undermining or replacing them, and also appealed for vets to help with the development of what he termed “robust” systems.
The session was told there are several areas where AI could have a role in veterinary practice, including triage, second opinion, arbitration between different views on how to tackle a case, explanation and data mining.
But delegates also heard that the use of such platforms can be hampered by problems such as hallucination, where the system provides a confident-looking response that isn’t backed by data, biases within datasets and remaining questions about ethics and governance.
Kevin Wells – an associate professor in Surrey’s Centre for Vision, Speech and Signal Processing – said AI would impact on the veterinary sector, but it was unlikely technology would take over from human decision makers.
He said: “Will AI replace vets? Probably not. But will vets that use AI replace those that don’t? That is a possibility.”
His Surrey colleague, professor Clare Rusbridge, told the session that she would soon be launching an algorithm that would use the answers given to questions by owners to generate pain scores for some neurological conditions.
