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Would You Trust This AI Over Your Doctor?

Microsoft says it’s new AI is outperforming doctors when it comes to diagnosing tough medical cases.

A study shows that the company’s AI system (called MAI-DxO) correctly diagnosed 85% of challenging cases. In comparison, doctors only got it right 20% of the time.

Here’s the rundown:

• Microsoft tested MAI-DxO against 21 general doctors from the US and UK. They used 300 complex, tricky cases from the New England Journal of Medicine, designed to stump even the most experienced physicians.

• Not only did the AI diagnose more accurately, but it also did so at 20% lower costs than a human doctor. Considering the high cost of medical care, these savings are significant.

• Unlike many “black-box” systems (where it’s impossible to see the decision-making process of the AI), MAI-DxO shows its reasoning, allowing doctors to track how it reached its conclusions and learn from it.

This means that it can also be used as a learning companion for doctors, potentially improving their skills over time.

What’s next? Microsoft’s AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman believes it could make expert-level diagnostics available to everyone in the long run, regardless of location or budget. This could help areas with limited access to quality healthcare.

But some experts, like Keith Dreyer from Massachusetts General Hospital, argue that the real challenge will be testing how these systems perform in real hospitals, where patient conditions and environments are much more complex than in controlled studies.

Is Meta’s AI Getting... a Bit Too Friendly?

Are you ready for an AI chatbot to start the conversation with you?

Meta is introducing exactly that: chatbots that know everything about you and reach out before you do.

These bots will kick off conversations with personalized content, updates, and suggestions, all based on your activity across platforms like Instagram and Facebook Messenger.

Meta’s hoping this proactive approach boosts engagement and makes interactions feel more useful and timely. It also gives brands and creators new ways to reach you directly.

While some find the idea of bots reaching out with relevant content exciting, others are uneasy about a chatbot that knows everything about them sliding into their messages. What do you think?

Meet Deemah Al-Yahya, Founder of Women Spark

Celebrating this week’s Woman in Tech 🥳: Meet Deemah Al-Yahya, Saudi tech diplomat and founder of Women Spark - Saudi Arabia’s first women’s angel investment network which has trained over 26,000 women in tech and entrepreneurship.

Al-Yahya is also the founding Secretary-General of the Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO), the world’s first intergovernmental body focused on building inclusive, sustainable digital economies.

Born in Riyadh, Al-Yahya earned a BA in Computer Science and Information Systems from King Saud University. She began her career as a software engineer at Samba Financial Group, before joining the Saudi stock exchange, Tadawul.

In 2010, she joined Microsoft and was later promoted to Executive Director of Developer Experience & Digital Innovation, becoming the first Saudi woman to hold a leadership role at the company.

In 2016, she led Saudi’s digital transformation strategy as founding CEO of the National Digital Transformation Unit and launched Saudi Codes, a literacy initiative that reached over 1.2 million people across 190 cities.

Al-Yahya serves on several boards, including the Saudi National Bank, Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property, and the Saudi Company for AI. In 2018, she was named “Digital CEO of the Year” by Entrepreneur Middle East.

From writing code to shaping international cooperation, Al-Yahya is driving real change - championing women, expanding access, and building a more inclusive digital economy.