Episode: AI in Healthcare — When Systems, Not People, Catch the Mistakes with Dr. Julia Adler-Milstein

What if we’re asking doctors to do something humans are actually bad at?

In this episode of Paths of Curiosity in an AI World, we continue our AI and Healthcare mini-series with Dr. Julia Adler-Milstein, founding chief of UCSF’s Division of Clinical Informatics and Digital Transformation and a national leader in health policy and AI governance. Dr. Adler-Milstein studies a critical question facing modern healthcare: when AI systems make mistakes, who is responsible for catching them?

From her early career path through consulting to pioneering research at the intersection of data, policy, and medicine, Dr. Adler-Milstein explains why AI vigilance is harder than it sounds, why relying on individual clinicians to catch rare AI errors may be unrealistic, and how better system design can make AI safer in practice.

We explore how research shapes real policy decisions, how data sharing laws changed because of evidence, and why writing, systems thinking, and curiosity matter just as much as technical skills. This conversation offers a behind-the-scenes look at how AI is monitored, governed, and improved in real healthcare settings, and where students might fit into that future.

In this episode, we explore:

• Why humans struggle to catch AI mistakes—and what to do instead
• How AI governance and monitoring systems are emerging in healthcare
• How research influences federal and state health policy
• Where AI can reduce clinician burden—and where it might add to it
• Career paths for students interested in data, policy, and healthcare without clinical practice

Let’s follow that curiosity and see where it leads!

Explore the Future Jobs Map - AI in Healthcare - People, Data, & Decisions:
A living guide connecting AI, healthcare, and emerging careers for students

Full Description: www.docs.google.com/document/d/1PKCeLrlvZXyvWu8gy3zVZoIg6xqubXBPABYxJe53SQo/edit?usp=sharing

One-Page Summary:
www.docs.google.com/document/d/1W-6wS6H4GuH2DGoRzt0aidWTnGt68Yc7rMxK3nGIwqk/edit?usp=sharing

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