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GPT-4, a dog with a mysterious illness and no diagnosis - how OpenAI's chatbot saved a dog's life.

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"GPT-4 saved my dog's life," wrote one Twitter user on the social media platform. "After my dog got diagnosed with a tick-borne disease, the vet started her on the proper treatment, and despite a serious anemia, her condition seemed to be improving relatively well."

But a few days later, the animal suddenly became much worse and Cooper noticed that his gums were pale. A blood test at the vet revealed severe anemia, but further tests for co-infections associated with the tick-borne disease were negative.

GPT-4 save my dog

With the vet unable to make a diagnosis and the dog getting worse, Cooper went to a second clinic for a second opinion.

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On the way, Cooper got the idea to consult OpenAI's latest AI model, GPT-4.

"It occurred to me that medical diagnostics seemed like the sort of thing GPT4 could potentially be really good at, so I described the situation in great detail," Cooper says. "I gave it the actual transcribed blood test results from multiple days, and asked for a diagnosis."

GPT-4 provided a correct interpretation of the results and pointed out that the anaemia could have other causes. When asked, GPT-4 listed a number of causes, all but one Cooper was able to rule out based on the tests already done: immune-mediated hemolytic anemia, an autoimmune disease in which the body attacks red blood cells.

With the AI diagnosis in hand, Cooper went to the second vet clinic and asked for the human expert's opinion. They ran a series of tests and confirmed the diagnosis of GPT-4. With the appropriate treatment, the dog is now doing well.

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GPT-4's future in diagnostics

Both canine diseases are relatively common, Cooper says. "I don't know why the first bet couldn't make the correct diag., either incompetence or poor mgmt."

GPT-3.5 could not provide the correct diagnosis, he says. GPT-4, on the other hand, even explained the blood results step by step, according to Cooper.

The story shows that powerful AI systems like GPT-4 can play an important role in diagnostics - always in dialogue with human experts. They do not have to be better than all humans, just better than overworked or incompetent doctors.

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Summary
  • A sick dog could not be clearly diagnosed - the dog's owner then had the blood levels of GPT-4 tested and was able to make a diagnosis from the tests already done.
  • The diagnosis was then confirmed at a second veterinary clinic and the dog was saved with the right treatment.
  • The disease is common in this breed of dog, but was not detected at the first veterinary clinic.
Max is managing editor at THE DECODER. As a trained philosopher, he deals with consciousness, AI, and the question of whether machines can really think or just pretend to.
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