We are Still Learning the Lesson Charles Babbage Taught Us in 1821

Back in 1821 when Charles Babbage introduced the world to his Difference Engine, one of the world’s first mechanical computers, he taught us that bad input = bad output. This is a lesson we are still learning today in healthcare. As we leap into the world of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and large language models, we would do well to remember this lesson before relying too heavily on the output of these fantastical technologies. At the recent HIMSS23 Conference in Chicago, Charlie Harp, CEO of Clinical Architecture – a company that provides solutions for healthcare data quality, interoperability, and clinical documentation – delivered a spotlight session that highlighted the work of Babbage and his important lesson. Charlie Harp giving us a history lesson – channeling Charles Babbage and his “difference engine” – even back in the mid-19th century bad input = bad output #interop #HIMSS23 @ClinicalArch pic.twitter.com/Wtdr9zhJvj — Colin Hung (@Colin_Hung) April 19, 2023 Relying Output from Bad Input is Bad In his presentation Harp recited this hilarious quote from Babbage from the early 1800’s (you have to read it and imagine a posh British accent): “On two occasions I have been asked [by members of Parliament], ‘Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?’ I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a ques...
Source: EMR and HIPAA - Category: Information Technology Authors: Tags: AI/Machine Learning Analytics/Big Data Health IT Company Healthcare IT Hospital - Health System Charles Babbage Charlie Harp ChatGPT Clinical Architecture Difference Engine garbage in garbage out Health Data Quality Healthcare Da Source Type: blogs