App makes the cut in three-scenario pop quiz
Babylon aims to “put an accessible and affordable health service in the hands of every person on earth”. How does it work?
The National used three scenarios to put the app to the test: a torn cruciate ligament, brain tumour and swine flu.
Information regarding symptoms was acquired from the Mayo Clinic website.
At the beginning of each text conversation with the Babylon AI, a disclaimer, reminding us that the AI is not a real medical practitioner, appeared.
We were asked not only about symptoms but the nature of pains and aches.
The interview was carried out largely through answering tick-box questions and typing in symptoms, with the AI reverting to set questions from there. Regarding the torn ACL and brain tumour, the AI performed well, understanding our manual entries as it questioned us in detail about conditions.
These included the distribution of swelling, where on the specific part of the body we experienced the most pain, and to what extent we could support ourselves and put weight on the body part without assistance.
The AI moved into a second round of questioning. This involved asking questions about areas such as our neck and back, our medical history and whether we smoked.
In the case of swine flu, it determined flu but not the variant.
There were times, however, when Babylon revealed the non-human, “artificial” aspect of its intelligence. During the first round of questioning for the torn ACL, the AI could not understand one of the symptoms: a popping sensation in the knee.
Alongside saying “don’t be alarmed” before each description, it appeared that Babylon was focused on trying to keep us calm.
The app itself was easy to use.