When Doctors and AI Medical Opinions Diverge Humans Must Question the Difference

A new paper in npj digital medicine, led by Charles E. Binkley, M.D., of Hackensack Meridian Health, examines how clinicians should reconcile disagreements with AI, which the authors call "divergence events." They recommend that doctors form their own assessments before reviewing AI output and then explicitly revisit the clinical evidence and their reasoning where the two diverge, citing independent double reading of breast cancer screening images as an example. The authors argue that how the field treats these divergence moments will determine whether AI becomes a true partner for safer clinical decisions.