STAT+: As artificial intelligence shows off diagnostic chops, scientists reckon with the way forward

STAT PlusHealth tech As artificial intelligence shows off diagnostic chops, scientists reckon with the way forward A prominent study in Science prompts physicians to call for rigorous clinical trials Manage alerts for this article Email this article Share this article By Katie PalmerApril 30, 2026 Health Tech Correspondent Katie Palmer[email protected]Katie Palmer covers telehealth, clinical artificial intelligence, and the health data economy — with an emphasis on the impacts of digital health care for patients, providers, and businesses. You can reach Katie on Signal at palmer.01. Getting a paper published in Science is a highlight of many researchers’ careers. But for internist and clinical artificial intelligence researcher Adam Rodman, it’s also been a source of some agita. On Thursday, Rodman and his colleagues published a compilation of experiments, including one using real-world data from a Boston emergency department, that show a large language model from OpenAI can outperform physicians in case-based diagnostic and clinical reasoning evaluations. To Rodman, the paper’s co-senior author, it’s a response to a gauntlet thrown down in Science in 1959. That paper “described how you would know that a clinical decision support system was capable of doing diagnosis better than humans,” he said. “And they can do it.”Advertisement But as generative AI tools like chatbots are heavily marketed — both to patients and clinicians — it makes him worried that the science experiments, all based on simulated and historical cases, will be misconstrued as proof of AI’s safety and efficacy when used to treat real patients. STAT+ Exclusive Story Already have an account? Log in This article is exclusive to STAT+ subscribers Unlock this article — and get additional analysis of the technologies disrupting health care — by subscribing to STAT+. Already have an account? Log in Monthly $39 Totals $468 per year $39/month Get Started Totals $468 per year Starter $30 for 3 months, then $399/year $30 for 3 months Get Started Then $399/year Annual $399 Save 15% $399/year Get Started Save 15% 11+ Users Custom Savings start at 25%! Request A Quote Request A Quote Savings start at 25%! 2-10 Users $300 Annually per user $300/year Get Started $300 Annually per user View All Plans To read the rest of this story subscribe to STAT+. Subscribe Log In Artificial intelligence, health tech, research, STAT+ Submit a correction requestReprints Katie Palmer Health Tech Correspondent Katie Palmer covers telehealth, clinical artificial intelligence, and the health data economy — with an emphasis on the impacts of digital health care for patients, providers, and businesses. You can reach Katie on Signal at palmer.01. STAT+ Newsletter A hitchhiker's guide to the health care AI galaxy Recommended The Readout LOUD April 30, 2026 STAT Plus: Hair-raising trial results, and Servier’s M&A wishlist Health April 30, 2026 Trump drops Casey Means as surgeon general nominee, opts for radiologist Nicole Saphier Advertisement Pharmalot April 30, 2026 STAT Plus: FDA wants to exclude weight loss drugs from a compounding list The Readout April 30, 2026 STAT Plus: Five-way obesity drug is super effective — in mice Insurance April 30, 2026 STAT Plus: DOJ, Elevance spar over access to top exec in Medicare Advantage fraud case Subscriber Picks