SINGULARITY: In Medicine Today?

By Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd

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The singularity promises to revolutionize medicine by accelerating diagnostics, treatment, and longevity—but it also demands ethical vigilance and systemic transformation.

The concept of the technological singularity refers to a hypothetical future moment when artificial intelligence (AI) surpasses human intelligence, triggering exponential advances in technology. In medicine, this could mark a turning point where AI-driven systems outperform human clinicians in diagnosis, treatment planning, and even biomedical research. While the singularity remains speculative, its implications for healthcare are profound and multifaceted.

One of the most promising impacts is in diagnostics and precision medicine. AI systems trained on vast datasets of medical images, genetic profiles, and patient histories could detect diseases earlier and more accurately than human doctors. For example, algorithms already outperform radiologists in identifying certain cancers from imaging scans. As we approach the singularity, these systems may evolve into autonomous diagnostic agents capable of real-time analysis and personalized recommendations, tailored to each patient’s unique biology.

Another transformative area is drug discovery and development. Traditional pharmaceutical research is slow and costly, often taking over a decade to bring a new drug to market. AI could dramatically shorten this timeline by simulating molecular interactions, predicting therapeutic targets, and optimizing clinical trial designs. With superintelligent systems, the pace of innovation could accelerate to the point where treatments for currently incurable diseases—like Alzheimer’s or certain cancers—become feasible within months.

The singularity also opens doors to radical longevity and human enhancement. Advances in nanotechnology, genomics, and regenerative medicine may converge to extend human lifespan significantly. AI could help decode the aging process, identify biomarkers of cellular decline, and engineer interventions that slow or reverse it. Some theorists even envision a future where aging is treated as a curable condition, and mortality becomes a choice rather than a biological inevitability.

However, these breakthroughs come with serious ethical and societal challenges. Data privacy, algorithmic bias, and access inequality are critical concerns. If singularity-level AI is controlled by a few corporations or governments, it could exacerbate global health disparities. Moreover, the replacement of human clinicians with machines raises questions about empathy, trust, and accountability in care. Who is responsible when an AI makes a life-altering mistake?

To navigate this future responsibly, medicine must embrace interdisciplinary collaboration. Ethicists, technologists, clinicians, and policymakers must work together to ensure that AI systems are transparent, equitable, and aligned with human values. Regulatory frameworks must evolve to keep pace with innovation, and medical education must prepare practitioners to work alongside intelligent machines.

In conclusion, the singularity represents both a promise and a peril for medicine. It offers unprecedented opportunities to enhance human health, but also demands careful stewardship to avoid unintended consequences.

As we edge closer to this horizon, the challenge will be not just technological, but deeply human: to harness intelligence beyond our own in service of healing, compassion, and justice.

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EDUCATION: Books

SPEAKING: Dr. Marcinko will be speaking and lecturing, signing and opining, teaching and preaching, storming and performing at many locations throughout the USA this year! His tour of witty and serious pontifications may be scheduled on a planned or ad-hoc basis; for public or private meetings and gatherings; formally, informally, or over lunch or dinner. All medical societies, financial advisory firms or Broker-Dealers are encouraged to submit an RFP for speaking engagements: CONTACT: Ann Miller RN MHA at MarcinkoAdvisors@outlook.com 

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Cigna Sells Medicare Part C as 23andMe Crashes

By Staff Reporters

HCSC will acquire Cigna’s Medicare Advantage, Part D, supplemental benefits and CareAllies businesses, and the parties expect the deal to close in the first quarter of 2025. And, as January exits, we enter the thick of earnings call season. This week executives at AbbVie, Cigna, and Merck—to name a few—will brief healthcare investors on how their companies fared in 2023, and provide insights on what to expect in 2024.

And, Anne Wojcicki’s billions have vanished. 23andMe’s valuation has crashed 98% from its peak and NASDAQ has threatened to delist its sub-$1 stock. Wojcicki reduced staff by a quarter last year through three rounds of layoffs and a subsidiary sale. The company has never made a profit and is burning cash so quickly it could run out by 2025.

CITE: https://www.r2library.com/Resource

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Should Drugs be Discontinued If DNA Predicts Risks?

On Pharmacogenetic Testing and Genomics – An Invitation

[By Karen D. Matthias RN MBA]

Dr. Marcinko and ME-P Readers

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to test someone’s DNA and know the right drug to prescribe at the right dose the first time without the worry of adverse side effects?  Pharmacogenetics—the manner in which a person’s genes affect their response to drugs, has the potential to do just that.  Genetic and genomic tests hold enormous promise for revolutionizing our medical understanding of a disease.

However, it is irresponsible to suggest that a simple genetic test, at this point in time, can appropriately dictate prescribing practices for certain drugs.

Pharmacogenetic Testing

The use of pharmacogenetic testing in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer has recently created a lot of questions for patients.  A high profile example is whether or not genetic tests can predict the risk of recurrence of breast cancer in women taking tamoxifen.

Our knowledge of how genetics and environment interact to dictate an individual’s response to a given drug is in its infancy. Therefore it is critically important that there is sufficient evidence to support the use of a given test before it is introduced into mainstream medical practice. In most cases, there is not a simple single genetic test that will give us the necessary information.

For example, Hayes has reviewed the evidence behind the pharmacogenetics of response to tamoxifen, and the reality is that there is currently insufficient evidence to conclude that performing a genetic test prior to prescribing this drug has any impact at all on patient outcomes.

Link: http://www.hayesinc.com/hayes/?s=Tamoxifen+

Assessment 

Furthermore, well-designed studies are needed to both confirm the relationship between genetic variants and response to tamoxifen. The critical component is to show that positive changes in patient care can be made in response to the results of genetic testing and to establish what the potential negative repercussions of NOT prescribing these drugs to patients may be.  It is possible that the benefits outweigh the risks, even for patients shown by genetic testing to be less likely to respond to treatment.

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ME-P Invitation from Hayes, Inc 

Dr. Diane J. Allingham-Hawkins would be available to give you, and your ME-P readers, a perspective on this ongoing genetics testing dialogue. Dr. Allingham-Hawkins is Director of the Genetics Test Evaluation Program at Hayes, Inc., an unbiased, healthcare research and consulting firm that is helping hospitals and insurers cope with the cost and ethical issues related to genetic testing.  She is an outspoken interviewee with deep knowledge of the subject matter and very pointed opinions regarding genetic testing.  A great interview for your consideration.

Contact Info:

Karen D. Matthias – Vice President

Hayes, Inc – 157 S. Broad Street

Lansdale, PA 19446

P: 215-855-0615 x7918

E-mail: kmatthias@hayesinc.com

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Speaker: If you need a moderator or speaker for an upcoming event, Dr. David E. Marcinko; MBA – Publisher-in-Chief of the Medical Executive-Post – is available for seminar or speaking engagements. Contact: MarcinkoAdvisors@msn.com

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