NEJM AI Grand Rounds

Author: NEJM Group

NEJM AI Grand Rounds, hosted by Arjun (Raj) Manrai, Ph.D. and Andrew Beam, Ph.D., features informal conversations with a variety of unique experts exploring the deep issues at the intersection of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and medicine. Youll learn how AI will change clinical practice and healthcare, how it will impact the patient experience, and about the people who are pushing for innovation. Whether you are an AI researcher or a practicing clinician, these conversations will enlighten and surprise you as we journey through this very exciting field. Produced by NEJM Group.
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Language: en

Genres: Health & Fitness, Medicine, Technology

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What Values are in AI? A Conversation with Dr. Zak Kohane
Episode 37
Wednesday, 17 December, 2025

For Dr. Zak Kohane, this year’s advances in AI weren’t abstract. They were personal, practical, and deeply tied to care. After decades studying clinical data and diagnostic uncertainty, he finds himself building his own EHR, reviewing his child’s imaging with AI, and re-thinking the balance between incidental and missed findings. Across each story is the same insight: clinicians and machines make mistakes for different reasons — and understanding those differences is essential for safe deployment. In this episode, Zak also highlights where AI is spreading fastest, and why: reimbursement. While dermatology and radiology aren’t broadly using AI for interpretation, revenue-cycle optimization is advancing rapidly. Meanwhile, ambient documentation has exploded — not because it increases accuracy or throughput, but because it improves clinician satisfaction in strained systems. Yet the most profound theme, he argues, is values. Models already show implicit preferences: some conservative, some aggressive. And unlike human clinicians, no regulatory framework examines how those preferences form. Zak calls for a new form of oversight that centers patients, recognizes bias, and bridges clinical expertise with technical transparency. Transcript.