Spotlight on Science: Riley Fullerton

Artificial intelligence (AI) has had a major impact on health care over the last few decades. But is AI actually a good thing? Despite its many benefits, some believe AI could take jobs away from hard-working nurses and other health care professionals in the future.

New Rochelle High School senior Riley Fullerton has many family members who work in the health care industry, so he wondered how this technology affects them. This led Fullerton to conduct an online survey to determine how nurses feel about the possibilities of AI in health care.

“After reading countless articles on AI applications in health care, I designed a survey on Google Forms that would accurately evaluate nurses’ views on AI in their workplace,” Fullerton said. “I sent out this survey to my friends and family who work in health care. And my mentor (New Rochelle research science teacher and Science Research Program Director Jeff Wuebber) posted it on MTurk, a site that pays people to fill out surveys.”

Fullerton found the majority of nurses surveyed believe AI is beneficial to the health care industry and patients. Those nurses who already work with AI, via virtual nursing systems, also claim it makes their job easier.

According to Fullerton’s survey, while the majority of nurses surveyed believe AI is a good thing in some ways, they acknowledge the risks involved. The nurses surveyed believe they will work alongside AI for five or so years before the technology eventually replaces them. This begged the question: Should we invest in more AI and risk a lot of people losing their jobs?

Fullerton shared thoughts on the matter, saying, “With billions of dollars being invested in this technology by hospitals, it is important that we have a proper understanding of how it is affecting our essential workers. In health care, we should view it as an aid or tool, not a replacement for human care.”