In times when artificial intelligence arouses fascination and fear in equal measure, it is worth remembering what EO Wilson stated: our species is an “evolutionary chimera.” We have emotions inherited from the Paleolithic, institutions typical of the Middle Ages and today we support a technology worthy of gods.
That diagnosis—crude and realistic—reveals what many polarized discourses ignore: the dissonance between what we are biologically, what we follow institutionally, and what we can achieve with technology. In health, this dissonance can have profound consequences: decisions uncoupled from human care, a technical perspective without empathy, protocolized treatments without listening.
But here appears a transformative possibility: using AI and advanced tools not to replace, but to enhance the human. Not as a threat, but as an ally that helps organize ideas, accelerate reasoning, synthesize knowledge and refine clinical judgment.
But technology—no matter how powerful it is—can only display its value if we are able to accompany it with what is essential: sensitivity, ethics, personal history, dignity of the patient. If not, Wilson’s phrase sounds like a warning: beings with prehistoric emotions, obsolete institutions and prodigious tools, thrown at random into a risky environment.
That is why I propose a different view: not “AI vs humans”, but “AI + humanity”. A conscious, comprehensive, contemporary health philosophy. That recognizes the complexity of the human being: his data, his stories, his sufferings. That combines rigorous analysis with empathetic care. That builds healthy, adapted, reflective institutions.
That, I believe, is the true challenge of this 21st century: incorporating technology as an instrument of care, without losing our human condition. That is—or should be—the real health philosophy.
Andrea Viviana Rodriguez-medical specialist in geriatrics and neurology. [email protected]
Whatsapp: 1162568491
by CONTENTNOTICAS
