Balancing technology and human touch key to business success in age of AI

Humanity stands on the brink of a technological revolution in which artificial intelligence (AI) is expected to radically transform our world in unimaginable ways.

“The future arrived sooner than what we thought possible, and science fiction is now becoming science fact,” observed futurist Anders Sörman-Nilsson during his October 8 keynote address at the 2024 AVMA Veterinary Business and Economic Forum.

He is the founder of Thinque, a think tank helping multinational corporations anticipate future trends. Sörman-Nilsson spoke about the intersection of AI, marketing, and human interaction, emphasizing ethical use of machine learning technology and balancing digital and human experiences.

Sörman-Nilsson was among a slate of forum speakers who addressed the transformative powers of AI and ways veterinary professionals are already integrating this technology in their practices—from radiography to customer feedback and sentiment analysis.

“My big belief is that the dawn of AI essentially means that we can start taking the robot out of the human. The beautiful thing is that it can liberate us from doing less of the menial and the mundane and more of the meaningful and the humane,” Sörman-Nilsson said.

The digital and the analog

Essentially, AI uses algorithms and machine learning models to rapidly process and analyze vast amounts of data to perform a specific task, identifying patterns and making decisions or predictions based on those inputs. Unlike previous technologies, AI is capable of learning from experience and new data, improving and refining its performance over time.

“While we sleep, the machines are learning,” Sörman-Nilsson said, “and this provides us with massive opportunities, but also massive responsibility to ethically and responsibly deploy AI in our businesses.”

He recalled the debacle surrounding Apple’s 2019 launch of its credit card, the Apple Card. Instead of using traditional FICO scores to determine credit limits for card holders, Apple and partner Goldman Sachs used an algorithm. It quickly became apparent that programmers had coded bias into the algorithm, which identified women as a greater credit risk than men. As a result, credit limits for female Apple Card holders were noticeably lower than male card holders, resulting in public outrage and embarrassment for both companies.

“The point is, when we deploy AI in our businesses, we have to have a human in the loop who actually looks into the technology and figures out if this technological deployment is going to have any disastrous consequences,” Sörman-Nilsson said.

This fusion of the digital and the analog—the computer with the human—is what Sörman-Nilsson calls “digilogue.” As Sörman-Nilsson explained, a “digilogue” approach combines the efficiency and scalability of digital tools with the empathy and personal connections of human interactions.

“The analog is the face to face, the digital interface to interface,” he said. “One’s about the offline, one’s about the online. One is about winning hearts, one is about winning minds.”

Sörman-Nilsson advocates for businesses to leverage digital advancements while maintaining human-centric practices, enabling them to enhance both customer service and relationships. This concept is especially relevant in sectors such as health care and retail, where human empathy is crucial but can be scaled with the help of digital technologies.

“Remember, technology now speaks human. What humane outcomes will you now code for?” Sörman-Nilsson asked. “Secondly, technology can take the robot out of the human. Which technologies will you use to refocus on the meaningful and the humane? Thirdly, AI won’t replace veterinarians, but veterinarians who use AI will replace the veterinarians who don't.”

AI in practice

Following Sörman-Nilsson’s presentation, a panel of veterinary professionals related their experiences with integrating AI into their practices. Dr. Justin Toth, owner and operator of Dallas Highway Animal Hospital in Powder Springs, Georgia, has been using AI for radiograph interpretation at his practice for over a year now.

“I can definitely say that the early platforms had many limitations, such as misidentifying growth plates as fractures and falsely increasing vertebral heart scores,” Dr. Toth said. “Since then, newer technologies have emerged, and the system is becoming more efficient. It’s learning from previous errors, and we’re seeing fewer and fewer mistakes.”

Regarding the platform his hospital uses, if any radiograph is determined by the AI as either a critical or a surgical case, the image is automatically reviewed by a board-certified radiologist, without having to request it, he said.

Dr. Bill Williams spoke on how AI is reforming veterinary record keeping. He is a co-owner of Altoona Veterinary Hospital and Hubbell Animal Hospital, both small animal practices in Altoona and Des Moines, Iowa, where he serves as co-medical director.

He says the ability of AI to assist with transcribing veterinary visits and phone conversations at his practices has improved significantly after integrating it into their workflows.

They started testing multiple platforms in 2023 along with development of client consent document, which is made available at check in. Workstations in examination rooms are equipped with a conference microphone that records during the appointment. The audio recording can be reviewed to clarify any awkward or inaccurate wording.

Since mid-January, their hospital doctor staff has been using AI scribe software for every appointment. The examination is performed like usual with doctor “narrating” findings to the owner for the scribe to hear. It takes about a minute or two from processing to draft subjective objective assessment plan (SOAP) for visits and recordings of 20-plus minutes. The service can also provide a visit summary in a client-friendly format from a finalized SOAP.

Staff members have access to the notes, which can be saved into the patient’s file and be used for client callbacks and dental charting. He says this capability provides freedom for support staff to focus on patient monitoring and other duties.

Dr. Williams also says since the technology has been put in place, it has allowed the veterinarians to focus their attention and discussion directly on the client and patient without typing or writing. Not only that, but AI has been able to capture greater detail of discussions and recommendations than what the doctors could do on their own generally.

Other uses for AI

AI can not only assist in the medical aspects of practice, but also in the areas of marketing, customer satisfaction, and even staff training and retention.

Amy Ramirez has worked within the hospitals for the past 21 years and is now BluePearl’s director of nursing and training. She works closely with the company’s divisional nursing partners to elevate the role of assistants and veterinary technicians by ensuring they can work to the top of their licensure.

She says transparent career progression is essential in this regard. To do that, Ramirez recommends competency-based evaluations and skill signoffs.

AI can be used to drive the design process of the rubric, which helps create clear structures and eliminate bias in the process. She recommends first identifying the core essential competencies for each role within the practice. Then this information can be entered into an AI large language model, such as ChatGPT, to start craft meaningful titles that reflect the specific skills each role is expected to perform and provide a pathway for progression to the next level.

Once that work is completed, software programs can help track competency assessments and skill signoffs efficiently.

Finally, Dr. Christie Cornelius discussed how AI is being used to improve client communication and sentiment analysis. The Texas practitioner and founder of two pet hospice companies also addressed hurdles such as data quality, integration, and privacy concerns, as well as the need for strategic planning and ethical considerations in implementing AI.

Client feedback is a critical component of any successful veterinary practice, Dr. Cornelius said. However, traditional methods of gathering feedback, such as surveys, comment cards, or casual conversations can often be limited in scope, time consuming to analyze, and subject to bias. Moreover, in today’s digital age, feedback is shared across various platforms, online reviews, social media, emails, and more.

“The shift prevents both a challenge and an opportunity for veterinary practices. The challenge lies in the sheer volume of feedback sources. The opportunity, however, is the potential to harness AI to manage this feedback efficiently and gain deeper insights into client sentiment,” Dr. Cornelius said.

AI-powered chatbots are effective for eliciting feedback by automating interactions with clients. They ask open-ended questions, allowing clients to express themselves freely. Once those responses are collected, the next step is to analyze and report it accurately.

“Here’s where AI shines, by turning raw data into insights,” Dr. Cornelius said, by generating reports that help practices address areas of concern before they escalate.

Sentiment analysis tools, meanwhile, provide greater insights into client feelings by assessing emotion- and intent-based content in various sources of feedback, such as online reviews, emails, social media, and surveys.

Additionally, AI’s fine-grained analysis capabilities can capture complexity in posts in which both happiness and dissatisfaction are expressed.

“Can you see how useful something like this could be to a veterinary practice?” Dr. Cornelius asked. “If there’s a sudden increase in negative sentiment following a change in clinic procedures, it may indicate that the change is not well received by clients and requires reconsideration.

“On the other hand, feedback with positive sentiment can be used to reinforce best practices and motivate the team.”