Google Tests Medical AI Chatbot ‘Med-PaLM 2’ in US Hospitals: Reports

Washington: Google is testing its new medical AI chatbot, Med-PaLM 2, in US hospitals such as the Mayo Clinic research hospital. This chatbot, based on Google’s PaLM 2 language model, is designed to provide answers to medical questions and is specifically tailored for medical institutions. It has been in use since April and aims to enhance healthcare conversations by drawing from a curated set of medical expert demonstrations.

Med-PaLM 2, powered by the same language model as Google Bard, offers improved capabilities compared to general chatbots like Bard, Bing, and ChatGPT. While the chatbot collects user data, it is encrypted, ensuring that Google does not have access to it.

Google believes that Med-PaLM 2 can be particularly beneficial in countries with limited access to doctors, providing assistance and information on health-related matters. However, physicians have noted more inaccuracies and irrelevant information in the chatbot’s responses compared to those provided by human doctors.

Google acknowledges that Med-PaLM 2 is still in the early stages of development. Greg Corrado, a senior research director, stated that while he wouldn’t personally rely on it for his family’s healthcare journey, he believes the chatbot can significantly expand the areas where AI can be beneficial in healthcare.