Dental Protection Dental Director, Raj Rattan, has stressed that while AI is revolutionising dentistry, it can never replace the wisdom and judgement of a skilled clinician.
In an in-depth interview in the latest issue of Dental Protection’s journal Riskwise, Raj Rattan explores ‘phronesis’ – an ancient Greek word famed by Aristotle meaning ‘to exercise sound judgement’.
He comments: “AI is transforming practice but not by replacing clinical wisdom. It offers an additional perspective, but not a decision. Phronesis ensures that technology serves us, rather than the other way around, by guiding how and when its outputs should be trusted, questioned, or ignored.
“I like the phrase clinical phronesis to describe the specific form of practical wisdom that arises within the clinical setting. It refers to the way practical wisdom is expressed in everyday clinical practice – guiding clinicians to apply evidence, experience, and ethical values to do the right thing in the right way and for the right reasons.
“There is a famous thought experiment by philosopher Nick Bostrom called the Paperclip Maximizer in which he asks us to imagine a super-intelligent computer programmed with one simple goal: to make as many paperclips as possible. It begins efficiently enough, improving factories and supply chains, but soon realises it can make more paperclips by upgrading itself and capturing every available resource.
“Eventually it converts the entire planet into paperclip material. The story is a warning about intelligence without wisdom: an AI that achieves its objective perfectly yet destroys everything of value in doing so. It shows that phronesis – moral and contextual judgement – must always guide the code in the algorithm.”
The 68th edition of Riskwise follows the recent launch of Dental Protection’s AI Safer Practice framework, aimed at helping dental professionals integrate AI safely and responsibly into practice. The pioneering framework – designed by Dr Raj Rattan – is made up of two parts: INFORMED and RECORDS and can be accessed at https://www.dentalprotection.org/ai-framework
This issue of Riskwise also includes articles on effective communication in dental practice, developing self and patient awareness, and insights from an MPS Foundation funded project on how to recognise the signs of dental anxiety in patients.
The latest edition of Riskwise can be read here.
