
Ground Truths Robert Wachter & Eric Topol - Discuss a Giant Leap Book
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Feb 4, 2026 Robert Wachter, Chair of Medicine at UCSF and author known for Digital Doctor, discusses AI's big-picture effects on medicine. They compare deep learning to LLMs. He recounts using an LLM as a subspecialty curbside consult and warns about hallucinations. They cover AI scribes, digital avatars, real-world testing, data interoperability, and training clinicians to orchestrate AI tools.
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AI As A Curbside Consult
- Robert Wachter used GPT on rounds as a curbside consult that suggested drug-induced liver injury and recommended tests.
- He called the moment an epiphany about carrying subspecialty-level intelligence in his pocket for generalists.
Hallucination That Looked Like Evidence
- Sarah Murray asked GPT-4 to draft a prior authorization and it hallucinated evidence that Apixaban treats insomnia.
- A later model corrected the error, illustrating rapid model improvement and the danger of believable falsehoods.
Compare AI To The Real-World Alternative
- Compare AI not to an ideal, but to the current healthcare system when judging benefit.
- Even imperfect AI can improve access and quality compared with today's flawed status quo.







