Of course its PR. Its hard enough to accept that your doctor is a computer, how much harder if its a javascript from healthcare.gov on a tab opposite cat pictures?
The fiction is that, yes its a computer, but its the biggest smartest computer ever! Look it won Jeopardy!
We do exactly the same thing with people. The medical system does a great deal of theater to convince everyone that they are getting "the best care possible" even though a moments thought is all it takes to realize that every facility and every doctor can't be even close to equal or "the best".
This is one step down the road to getting people to accept automated medical care. It will be lousy at first but it probably is the right path to take if everyone wants to get "the best" care possible everywhere in the future. You can replicate an awesome program for everyone everywhere but not an awesome doctor.
The fiction is that, yes its a computer, but its the biggest smartest computer ever! Look it won Jeopardy!
We do exactly the same thing with people. The medical system does a great deal of theater to convince everyone that they are getting "the best care possible" even though a moments thought is all it takes to realize that every facility and every doctor can't be even close to equal or "the best".
This is one step down the road to getting people to accept automated medical care. It will be lousy at first but it probably is the right path to take if everyone wants to get "the best" care possible everywhere in the future. You can replicate an awesome program for everyone everywhere but not an awesome doctor.