Is this email difficult to read? View it in a web browser. ›
The Wall Street Journal logo The Wall Street Journal logo
Future of Everything
Future of Everything

AI May Be Listening In on Your Next Doctor’s Appointment

ILLUSTRATION: CARL GODFREY

Even the hospital walls may soon have ears. A fast-growing technology known as ambient listening is taking over an onerous but necessary medical task: documenting what happens in the doctor-patient encounter.

This week, Laura Landro reports on the AI-powered scribes that are expanding in healthcare.

Ambient-listening software uses speech recognition and AI language models to capture and process conversations between a clinician and a patient during a visit.

The technology has already gained traction for outpatient medical visits, and is now also moving into hospital rooms and emergency departments.

“We are just scratching the surface of what this technology can do. I see it being able to provide insights about the patient that the human mind just can’t do in a reasonable time.”
— Dr. Lance Owens, of University of Michigan Health, which uses Microsoft’s DAX Copilot ambient-listening technology

Researchers predict the systems will evolve to extend before and after a visit: analyzing records beforehand to identify red flags, prompting doctors about recommended tests and treatments based on patient symptoms, and teeing up follow-up actions like lab tests and prescription orders.

Yet AI scribes raise privacy and security concerns in an industry already plagued by data breaches that compromise patient information. Cost is also a concern. Users typically license or subscribe to the technology, and fees can range from $200 to $600 per doctor per month.

More on this topic:

  • Should AI have access to your medical records? Here’s what WSJ readers say. (Read)
  • Kaiser Permanente’s AI chief shares what the technology should do in healthcare—and what it shouldn’t. (Read)

🤔 Would you allow AI scribes to document your conversations with doctors? Why or why not? Send me your thoughts, questions and predictions by hitting "reply" to this email.
 
CONTENT FROM: Deloitte
CFOs: Your Treasurer Is a Hidden Asset in Supply Chain Restructuring

Corporate treasurers can provide crucial financial oversight during supply chain restructuring, managing working capital, currency risks and more amid trade uncertainty.

Learn More

 

📰 Enjoying this newsletter? Get more from WSJ and support our journalism by subscribing today with this special offer.
 

More of What’s Next: AI Video; Blood Tests; Robot Recall

PHOTO: AI GENERATED

Joanna Stern made a film with AI, and it’s impressive and unsettling. The WSJ columnist used Google’s Veo and other AI tools to create a strikingly realistic video. She found that the tools can create scenes that look nearly flawless at first glance, but still require human input.

ILLUSTRATION: ADRIÁ VOLTÁ

New blood tests can detect diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s earlier, sometimes before symptoms appear. This wave of cutting-edge diagnostic tests leverages new genetic science, AI analysis and other advances to detect, monitor and help treat diseases.

ILLUSTRATION: THOMAS R. LECHLEITER/WSJ

AI is entering its “Cheers” era, when bots will remember your name. The memory capabilities of AI chatbots are improving, making them more contextually aware and relevant. Yet such personalization also ramps up the need for data privacy, security and responsible use, writes Steven Rosenbush.

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: JOHNNY SIMON/WSJ, ISTOCK

AI is really bad at reading the room, according to new research that showed humans still pick up on physical cues that AI models miss. Yet scientists say that AI could one day be trained to detect social cues—and possibly even help people who lack those skills.
 

🎧 Podcast: How A Self-Driving Truck Startup Siphoned Trade Secrets to China

TuSimple shared with Beijing data on its autonomous driving system. WSJ reporter Heather Somerville explains how it became an example of Washington’s shortcomings in keeping critical tech in the U.S.
Listen Now
 

Elsewhere in the Future
  • A new plan aims to send plant-filled “gardens” into orbit. (Wired)
  • Could this giant microwave change the future of war? (MIT Technology Review)
  • Scientists have developed a radical new kind of painkiller. (The New Yorker)
 

About Us

Thanks for reading The Future of Everything. We cover the innovation and tech transforming the way we live, work and play. This newsletter was written by Conor Grant. Get in touch with us at future@wsj.com.

See more from The Future of Everything at wsj.com/foe.
 
Share this email with a friend.
Forward ›
Forwarded this email by a friend?
Sign Up Here ›
 
 
Desktop, tablet and mobile. Desktop, tablet and mobile.
Access WSJ‌.com and our mobile apps. Subscribe
Apple app store icon. Google app store icon.
Unsubscribe   |    Newsletters & Alerts   |    Contact Us   |    Privacy Notice   |    Cookie Notice
Dow Jones & Company, Inc. 4300 U.S. Ro‌ute 1 No‌rth Monm‌outh Junc‌tion, N‌J 088‌52
You are currently subscribed as [email address suppressed]. For further assistance, please contact Customer Service at support@wsj.com or 1-80‌0-JOURNAL.
Copyright 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.   |   All Rights Reserved.
Unsubscribe