Senior Physician Speaker Series
Curated and hosted by Sam Yared, MD
Topic: Artificial Intelligence and Progress in the Medical Field Guest Speaker: Michael Yared
At the August meeting of the Senior Physicians Committee, Dr. Sam Yared, Chair, introduced Michael Yared, CEO and Co-Founder of Echobind, who offered a thought-provoking overview of how AI is reshaping the medical landscape. Drawing on over two decades of experience in software development for health care, including roles at Teladoc and CG Life, he guided the audience through the rapid advances in AI, emphasizing both its potential and the challenges it brings.
The State of AI in Health Care
AI is no longer a futuristic concept. It’ s an active, evolving force across every sector of medicine. From radiology diagnostics to clinical decision support, AI algorithms are being used to improve accuracy, efficiency and patient outcomes. He pointed out that AI’ s biggest strength lies in pattern recognition: the ability to process and analyze data far beyond human capacity.
Large language models( LLMs), like OpenAI’ s ChatGPT, Google’ s Gemini, and open-source alternatives like Meta’ s Llama or Alibaba’ s
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Qwen, are now capable of reading medical literature, generating patient education materials and even helping with administrative tasks. These tools can dramatically reduce cognitive and clerical burdens on health care professionals, allowing them to focus more on patient care.
Open Source vs. Closed Source: Why It Matters
One of the more nuanced discussions during the presentation centered on the differences between open source and closed source AI models. While platforms like ChatGPT offer remarkable performance, they operate in a cloud-based, closed source environment. This means sensitive health care data could be at risk if not handled with care.
Open-source models, on the other hand, offer more control and transparency. Once downloaded and run on a secure server, these models become your models, but without the outside interference or surveillance. For health systems and practices concerned about data privacy and HIPAA compliance, this distinction could be critical.
Speed and Performance: A Practical Edge
He also demonstrated how newer models like“ Kimi K2” deliver