40.5 Degrees

Olive was quite ill on the weekend. By Sunday night, as the infrared thermometer read 40.5 degrees I became concerned. A discussion with Chat GPT walked me calmly and carefully through causes, concerns, and an action plan. This calm and unwavering AI assistant paused patiently as I interrupted with deeper inquiry, repeated recommendations with enthusiasm, and appeared fully empathetic. Her pleasant and efficient responses gave me peace of mind, and her depth of knowledge was staggering. Upon stopping the chat I felt comfortable with our course of action. Symptoms to watch, electrolytes to drink, and the acceptable amount of Advil to safely administer. 

Excellent.

Karina had a nurse colleague advise us to call the Alberta Health Services triage line at 811, to get nurse assistance, and possibly more information relevant to our area and options. 

A couple minutes of entering numbers finally connected me with a recording:

 “You are caller number 69” if you’d prefer a callback please hit 1 now. Note you will only get one call back attempt. If you do not answer you must call back again.”

And so the waiting began.

An hour later my phone rang. 

I had long since forgotten about the callback, so I was surprised by a curt nurse who promptly and sternly demanded that I  “PLEASE take me off speaker, your phone is very echoey!”. This drill sergeant impatiently began grilling me with questions, seemingly with mild frustration, as I purveyed the information of my situation. I felt like a child in the principal’s office as she questioned me about the type of thermometer and how she knew exactly what was going on.

“The temperature does not matter. It is about the symptoms… she continued to explain..” This slow process was far from energizing. 

Fortunately by the end of our thirty minute discussion, I had confirmed all the same points previously learned from GPT, and the stern nurse had warmed up slightly.

People who claim that human empathy and connection are going to be a differentiator in an AI dominated world likely have not used AI enough. When you add perfect bedside manner, to perfect recall, retention, and instantaneous access to the world’s knowledge, it becomes clear that industries will change fast. 

I know who I’m calling next time I have a question.

• Now that’s a peak ethos.