If the COVID-19 pandemic didn’t already disrupt the supply chain status quo, now comes the extra-strength hubris and hype of artificial intelligence (AI).
Depending on who’s making the most noise among clickbait newsbots and humans adorned with short attention spans and ample neck muscles to withstand the whipsaw effect that endless eye candy brings, it’s clear that AI, as the soon-to-be-sentient Supplynet, either will assist us, destroy us or rule over us, leading no human labor unit ever to utter, “Ah’ll be baaahck!” again. This may delight Finance and HR, but everyone else in the enterprise might as well be … terminated.
A few days before the AHRMM show in Orlando, a helpful text arrived on my smartphone from the lovely Annie, the AHRMM AI Chatbot, poised to give me fashion, planning, travel and weather tips ahead of the event. She may be just what’s needed to succeed the fading excitement from the Domino’s pizza app that gave you real-time, play-by-play action on when Arnold pops your extra-large thin-crust pepperoni into the oven!
For a brief spell, Annie helped me forget all the bellowing smoke from nattering nabobs of negativity warning of AI’s inherent dangers. Then came word that ChatGPT outperformed physicians in answering patient questions! Telehealth on steroids? Calling Dr. AI!
This leads us to wonder whether this development is a Temple of Doom, Last Crusade or Dial of Destiny event? Better yet, let’s meet in the middle and label it the best and worst of Barbenheimer – flashy but bombastically explosive. Amid the endless chattel, we ponder whether Supplynet may be the real-life half-brother of real-life Skynet.
Imagine the possibilities for healthcare staffers, managers, leaders, and executives chatting with someone other than Alexa and Siri:
“ChatEVS … show me how to keep this facility clean and safe at all times, and tell me what the ‘V’ signifies in the three-letter acronym for the two-word title, ‘Environmental Services!’”
“ChatGPO … write me a contract that gives me every advantage over my supplier partner – and competitor across town – and knocks 5% off the contract price so I can appease my CFO.”
“ChatIFU … write me manufacturer instructions for use that not only help me understand how to operate the product but also how to clean, disinfect, and/or sterilize it properly without harm to myself or to the patients upon which it is used, and make sure that any resulting problems clearly are shown to be the fault of someone else.”
“ChatSCM … show me how to forecast accurately inventory demand so that we never run out of anything or suffer from backorders. And don’t tell me to invest in pre-cogs from Philip K. Dick’s ‘Minority Report’ either! I’ve already mortgaged our Magic 8 Ball and we’ve exhausted our vial of pixie dust!”
“ChatSPD … show me the fastest and safest way to reprocess post-surgical devices and instruments that remain caked with crusty bioburden and organic residue because someone neglected to pretreat them via soak or spray to help us avert surgeon verbal abuse!”
“ChatTJC … no more surprise quality inspections! Who do you think you are? Skynet?”
“ChatVAC … tell me everything I need to know about every product and service we actually acquire, might need or should want just like those internet exchanges during the dot-com bubble nearly a quarter-century ago promised to do for us. We no longer want to party like it’s 1999!”
Amazon, Apple and 12 more companies reported they are limiting employee access to OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Perhaps others could follow their lead and consult with an obvious source, ChatDUH, who likely will respond, “If you’re so worried about it, stop exploring, developing and using it.”
Now ask yourself whether this Buyline column was penned by ChatRDB. Rest assured, I’ll, er, “it’ll” never tell.
Rick Dana Barlow | Senior Editor
Rick Dana Barlow is Senior Editor for Healthcare Purchasing News, an Endeavor Business Media publication. He can be reached at [email protected].
