Microsoft has unveiled an artificial intelligence system that is raising the bar for medical diagnostic standards, significantly outperforming human doctors in complex health conditions. Achieving over 80% accuracy on challenging case studies, this breakthrough paves the way for a “path to medical superintelligence.”
The system, developed by Microsoft’s AI unit under Mustafa Suleyman, imitates a panel of expert physicians, tackling “diagnostically complex and intellectually demanding” cases. Its superior performance, especially when paired with OpenAI’s O3 AI model, stands in stark contrast to the 20% accuracy rate of human doctors on the same cases.
Beyond its diagnostic precision, Microsoft also emphasizes the AI’s efficiency in ordering tests, which could lead to substantial cost reductions in healthcare systems globally. While the term “superintelligence” suggests radical change, Microsoft maintains that AI will serve as a powerful complement to doctors, empowering them while preserving the crucial human elements of patient care.
The research involved converting over 300 complex case studies from the New England Journal of Medicine into “interactive case challenges.” The AI’s “diagnostic orchestrator” then systematically works through these cases, asking questions and recommending tests, mirroring a real-world clinician’s step-by-step approach to reach a final diagnosis.