To live or die - computer will decide
Are you ready to entrust your destiny to a computer? Researches say that a new computer program can make life-or-death decisions for disabled people better than their closest relatives.
A new research conducted by National Institute of Health (NIH) introduced a software program that can calculate all the pros and contras for further treatment of the seriously ill patients based on the mathematical formula. The decisions made by computer calculations are claimed to be even more accurate than those of the patient's close people.
Usually, when a doctor deals with an incapacitated patient and the chances for treatment are not evident, the decision is handed in to surrogate. But NIH scientists revealed, the surrogate decision may not be precise. A thorough analysis of the 20,000 choices of surrogates and patients showed that their decisions coincided only in two third of the times.
NIH professor David Wendler suggested a population-based treatment indicator to make such decision more precise. The program is based on database of other patients with the same disease, with similar characteristics like age, illness peculiarities, nationality and others along with the information on the treatment option.
The prior population-based treatment indicator was created by Wendler group after analyzing the statistic results of the survey conducted on cancer patients. They disclosed that patients are likely to choose a treatment saving their life even if it would be 1 percent chance and their mental state won't suffer much. Otherwise, life-saving treatment is unlikely to be the choice for those who have 99 percent chance they would live, but with their mental abilities not recovered.
The result of preliminary comparison of the computer treatment indicator and decisions made by surrogates was stunning. The accuracy of both human and computer decisions coincided in over 78 percent of cases.
Although these findings showed that computer choice could be not less effective than human decision, this scientific idea remains quite questionable due to the ethical matters. The substitute of the personal decision shouldn't be ignored even if calculations were proved to be accurate. Wendler and his colleagues say that even closest relatives are not able to make life-or-death decisions when it comes to serious cases, while their software takes into account the whole range of factors.
Comments:
- 0 votes
//15 Mar 16, 2009 09:45 AM | posted by:
zanele - I think its a great idea bt that means we all gonna die before time whatif the computer freezez and say die to everyone.
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//14 Dec 20, 2008 11:10 AM | posted by: beverly - our lives r in the hands of God, If we live in faith the subleties of this world no longer have an effect on us. I am disabled at the moment, but God is wrking miracles in my life. Believe and he will always prevail.
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//13 Dec 04, 2008 04:28 PM | posted by: the green blood - I think this is a great way to decide but...... technology does`t decide peoples faith as well as god does.
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//12 Oct 29, 2008 09:44 AM | posted by:
summer_rain [InfoTOT]
- this idea kinda scares me - computers deciding matters of life and death - foolish and scary...
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//11 Aug 21, 2008 09:02 AM | posted by: Sam - cool invention.............
bt everythin..is up 2 God.......!!!!!!!! - 0 votes
//10 Aug 15, 2008 05:01 AM | posted by: maidhili(coimbatore) - cool!!!!!!!! let's leave our destiny to computers......
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//9 Aug 11, 2008 12:26 AM | posted by: Unknown - great idea...good job!!!but only god will decide whether we will live or we will die!...
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//8 Aug 08, 2008 12:48 AM | posted by: Unknown - good...good...good...
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//7 Jul 30, 2008 01:46 AM | posted by: Charesa - Kindly show us the pictures or videos related to your inventions
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//6 Jul 27, 2008 11:04 AM | posted by: ima - this new invention can never change our destiny.
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//5 Jun 30, 2008 11:04 PM | posted by: ahsan - sir cingrats to u
excellent research
sir i hav a request
kindly send me complete detail of ur invention
my email id is
ahsan@live.com
regards
ahsan - 0 votes
//4 Jun 30, 2008 06:49 AM | posted by: salah - GOD is great
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//3 Jun 22, 2008 03:05 AM | posted by: dannah agustin - oh this program's great! but i think only God knowa our fate,,..
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//2 Mar 27, 2008 10:20 PM | posted by: rajni from noida(delhi) - it"s oppurtunity..........for new group of medical science..........it's realy great
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//1 Dec 08, 2007 11:58 AM | posted by: Unknown - I think human decision is not batter than computer choice.That is why computer ran this program logicaly.
