IBM Watson

2014 - 2018

IBM promised to revolutionize healthcare with their famous AI supercomputer Watson. An AI doctor with all the knowledge from all the worlds medical research. Watson would also read patients’ health records to diagnose and optimize treatment. The super doctor would even generate new insights and new approaches to cancer care. Watson Health was heavily marketed and leading healthcare organizations partnered with IBM to be part of the AI medical revolution.

Eight years and over 20 billion dollars later, Watson was a disappointment. He provided useless and sometimes dangerous medical recommendations. He could not understand patient records, and the captured AI insight from medical research literature was irrelevant. Despite the massive funding and academic involvement there is no research that shows that Watson improved patient outcomes. 

The Watson Health story is a cautionary tale of hubris and hype, IBM overpromised and underdelivered. The future of AI in healthcare is still very exciting, and if IBM learns that marketing is not the most important aspect of AI then Watson has a good chance of becoming a successful doctor. 

Additional info:

The New York Times - What Ever Happened to IBM’s Watson?

IEEE Spectrum - How IBM Watson overpromised and underdelivered on AI health care

Statnews.com - IBM pitched its Watson supercomputer as a revolution in cancer care. It’s nowhere close