Microsoft announces AI system better than doctors at diagnosing complex health conditions

Microsoft seems to be arguing a lot with OpenAI these days. However, this hasn’t stopped the tech giant from using the AI startup’s advanced o3 model to develop a system that allegedly performs better than human physicians at complex health diagnoses.

According to Microsoft, its research “demonstrates how AI can sequentially investigate and solve medicine’s most complex diagnostic challenges – cases that expert physicians struggle to answer.”

That’s indeed an ambitious conclusion to make – as well as the claim that the developed system creates a “path to medical superintelligence.”

What has Microsoft actually done?

As it turns out, the system, imitating a panel of expert doctors tackling complex issues, was paired with OpenAI’s o3 AI model. It managed to “solve” more than eight of 10 case studies specifically chosen for the diagnostic challenge.

When those case studies, borrowed from the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), one of the world’s leading medical journals, were assigned to practising human physicians – who had no access to their colleagues, textbooks, and, of course, chatbots – the accuracy rate dropped to two out of 10.

Microsoft also found that its AI Diagnostic Orchestrator – that’s what the system is called – delivered lower overall testing costs than physicians or any individual foundation model tested.

“No single physician, however, can span the full complexity of the NEJM case series. AI, on the other hand, doesn’t face this trade-off,” said the tech giant’s AI unit in a press release.

“It can blend both breadth and depth of expertise, demonstrating clinical reasoning capabilities that, across many aspects of clinical reasoning, exceed those of any individual physician.”

Microsoft’s advice is not to worry about jobs because AI is more of a complement to health professionals rather than their replacement.

The research – which Microsoft has apparently been working on since late 2024 – is currently being submitted for peer review.

The company is hoping to “reshape healthcare,” which is, of course, astronomically expensive in and for the US. Health spending in the country is nearing 20% of US GDP, but has little influence on patient outcomes.

Mustafa Suleyman, the chief executive of Microsoft AI, told The Guardian the system would be operating perfectly within the next decade.

“It’s pretty clear that we are on a path to these systems getting almost error-free in the next 5-10 years. It will be a massive weight off the shoulders of all health systems around the world,” said Suleyman.

What about jobs, though? If it’s cheaper to use reliable AI than human doctors, won’t they have to find something else to do? Microsoft’s advice is not to worry because AI is more of a complement to health professionals rather than their replacement.

“While this technology is advancing rapidly, their clinical roles are much broader than simply making a diagnosis. They need to navigate ambiguity and build trust with patients and their families in a way that AI isn’t set up to do,” said Microsoft.