Could this guy be your next colleague? Or your replacement? Khuly on what you should be worried about most with AI. Photo: Getty/shin28 Much virtual ink has been spilled on the subject of AI’s threat to our professions. Whether we’re discussing computer engineering, accounting, or the allied medical professions, the promise of change is upon us. Artificial intelligence has substantially changed us already. The question is: Will it merely alter our job descriptions…or pull the rug out from under us altogether? When I’ve polled my friends and work colleagues on this subject, they’ve tended to veer toward opposite ends of the spectrum: No way will veterinarians ever become obsolete. We’ll always be needed to make clinical observations and interpret the nuances inherent to pathophysiology. We’ll always need someone to work directly with our patients. The writing is on the wall. Our profession, as we know it, is already defunct. We just don’t want to admit it yet. The truth, like most things, almost certainly lies somewhere in the gray area between those two hot takes. Today’s Polaroid snapshot For now, AI has made inroads into our practices primarily via our practice management tools, diagnostic testing services, and clinician-assistant chatbot instruments (such as ChatGPT, independently accessed by veterinarians to help in decision-making or for research and client communications, among other tasks inherent to the job). AI has yet to demonstrate its capability to replace veterinarians. For example, were we to arm a credentialed veterinary technician/nurse with all the AI tools at our disposal, most would still be unable to perform at the level of the average veterinarian. The question remains, however, whether that will hold true 10 years from now. Given veterinary medicine’s expanding affordability crisis and the super-powered development of AI tools, might urgent care practices commanded by credentialed technicians play as effective a role as an on-site-veterinarian-directed team? “Remember, the ones looking to take our jobs are the corporate interests. It’s in their interest to pay fewer veterinarians to do the job a less expensive tech can do. For their part, vet techs need to hold their ground, possibly unionize, and earn more to help thwart our replacement. You can argue the reverse, but I believe you’d be wrong.” Why AI will never replace us Here are the primary arguments for why we’ll never be replaced: A human-to-human interaction will always be required. A human interface is our superpower and, for all its skills, interpreting the nuances of human behavior, psychology, and communication will never be an AI’s role. A thorough examination of the patient’s medical history, taken directly by the veterinarian, will never be bested by a machine. Physical examination is irreplaceable and requires the kind of direct observation and holistic interpretation AI can never replace. Moreover, hospitalization, direct ER care, and surgical assistance (even if safe and effective surgery bots materialize), will always require the kind of veterinary oversight AIs and other non-veterinarians aren’t yet sufficiently suited for. I agree with all of the above. AI will never replace us. Its quantitative nature and algorithmic calculus will never be truly creative, and creativity is crucial for both communication and direct clinical observation and interpretation. Moreover, we should keep in mind, for now, AI is still just a pattern recognizer, a word generator, an organizer of what’s already been produced by humanity (some of it merely self-referencing in a feedback loop of crazy hallucinations). However, it will alter our profession forever. Eventually, it will almost certainly reduce the need for veterinarians on a per-patient basis. Guess what? I’m actually good with that…as long as it happens slowly and cautiously (and doesn’t kill us off indiscriminately). Is AI the enemy? Speaking in general terms, it absolutely could be. There are many risks inherent to having a system designed to learn and make connections in ways we don’t even understand. After all, as it stands, even the top AI designers don’t have a thorough understanding of how the machines they have invented actually work. If that doesn’t scare you, nothing will. As long as we are careful and capable of harnessing AI’s potential in ways that allow us to effectively implement adequate guardrails, we all stand to gain. If it becomes less expensive to see a doctor, get your taxes done, and land food on your family’s table, wouldn’t that be a good thing? That’s the promise of AI. The hard part is all the in-between “stickiness,” as economists call it, likely to play havoc with the economy as we all adjust to the new normal. Technological change has always and forever been a part of our economies. The difference here is that it is happening so quickly that the sticky may become more sludgy in the wake of AI. And we, as a profession, don’t want to end up mired in the molasses. What would that look like? As I see it, the worst-case scenario is veterinarians will be relegated to oversight roles in which fewer of us are needed. If the corporations that run us have their way, we will be client interface tools more than clinicians. Our technicians will be running the clinical show…and not getting paid proportionally for it, either. The middlemen will get a healthier slice, and both top-tier management and corporate investors will see returns beyond their wildest dreams. The veterinary professionals will be left out in the cold. Make no mistake. This is where we are headed (some of this is actually happening already, sans AI). In fact, these days, you are more likely to make money as a veterinarian by investing in a veterinary corporation you believe in (some are better than others) than by breaking your back in clinical practice. It’s a sad commentary on today’s profession, but it’s the truth. You just look to other healthcare professions for a harbinger of things to come. So, what will it take to preserve our profession? In the short run: To steer clear of the swamp, veterinarians will have to harness AI to its own ends and continue to balk at roles that keep them isolated as mere clinician communicators. We’ll have to show our clinical mettle as independent users of AI and resist using in-house AI interfaces that may rob us of our autonomy (and likely lead to poorer outcomes than we would accomplish on our own). The organizations that represent us, bolstered by corporate interests, will continue to attempt to pit us against technicians, depicting them as “job takers,” thereby dividing and conquering us. When the truth is our interests are actually allied. Although it flies against current conventional wisdom as promulgated by many of our professional organizations, fighting together with our credentialed nurses and licensed technicians will make us stronger. Remember, the ones looking to take our jobs are the corporate interests. It’s in their interest to pay fewer veterinarians to do the job a less expensive tech can do. For their part, vet techs need to hold their ground, possibly unionize, and earn more to help thwart our replacement. You can argue the reverse, but I believe you’d be wrong. Collectively, we have more power than we think we do. We do the real work, and they can’t do it without us. In fact, we may soon be unionizing too. In the long run: Resisting corporate-run AI and giving our techs a leg up is the short-term sticky part. In the long run, AI will replace many of our jobs. It’s inevitable. Therefore, it’s our short-term job to be paying attention to so we don’t get bogged down in one of the jobs slated for conversion. We should vigorously resist attempts to make that happen by ensuring our personal responsibility for patient outcomes preserves that role. If we relinquish this in any way, we’re done for. In the long run, be assured that there will still be a need for veterinarians. If you’re new to the profession, I would consider thinking about the eventual possibility of lateral moves into more stable jobs in consulting, research, specialized veterinary services, tech development, and managerial positions. Those with clinical experience will always have a leg up. Alternatively, you can start your own practice and beat them at their own game—until you have the cash to invest in the veterinary institutions you believe in. Am I afraid? Yes, but only if we, as employee veterinarians, remain too focused on our everyday anxieties, fear for our livelihoods, and become too cowed by the corporations that employ us to play a more meaningful role in how it’s implemented. Will it put veterinarians out of business? Silicon Valley seems to think so. I’ll agree there’s a non-zero chance this will come to pass. However, for all of AI’s advances, its inevitable flaws are likely to diminish the possibility. Moreover, it’s earliest stages may not be seen for at least a decade or more. Until then, we’ll still be minting new vets in the thousands every year. Sure, it might give fewer of us the opportunity to work with animals, but it won’t mean we can’t. It might even give us a wider purpose, grant us even more expansive skills, and offer even more creative opportunities. After all, compassion comes in many forms, and animals can be loved and cared for in ways you perhaps never believed possible. Patty Khuly, VMD, MBA, runs a small animal practice in Miami and is available at drpattykhuly.com. Columnists' opinions do not necessarily reflect those of VPN Plus+.
