Intro

AI has arrived in medicine faster than anyone expected, but speed doesn’t guarantee wisdom.

In this episode of How I Doctor, Dr. Graham Walker sits down with Dr. Robert Wachter, chair of medicine at UCSF and one of healthcare’s most trusted voices on technology, to unpack what physicians are getting wrong about AI.

Drawing from his new book A Giant Leap, Bob offers a rare, grounded perspective: neither hype nor fear, but informed optimism. Graham and Bob explore de-skilling, trust, medical education, workflow realities, regulation, and the very human question of what happens when clinicians start relying on machines that may eventually outperform them.

This is a conversation for doctors who are already using AI, and those who are uneasy about what comes next. Not a manifesto, but a clear-eyed guide to thinking better about AI before it reshapes medicine for us.

What You’ll Learn

1. Why AI can both improve clinical judgment and quietly erode core physician skills at the same time.
2. What AI means for medical education, training, and the future of clinical reasoning.
3. Why trust in AI systems may arrive sooner than we expect, and why that’s both rational and risky.
4. How health systems should think about regulation, guardrails, and local accountability.

🔗 Resources & Further Reading

1. A Giant Leap: How AI Is Transforming Healthcare and What It Means for Our Future
2. Robert Wachter on Substack
3. Robert Wachter, MD – UCSF Faculty Page
4. Previous Book: The Digital Doctor

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