AI was supposed to replace radiologists but now they’re in more demand than ever | Here’s why
Radiologists say there are not enough specialists to meet growing demand despite an AI warning a decade ago
WPVI
ByNydia H. Han
Friday, October 30, 2026 5:07PM
Ten years ago, a prominent artificial intelligence researcher predicted that radiologists would soon become obsolete as AI systems surpassed humans in reading medical scans. But a decade later, radiologists say the opposite challenge has emerged: there are not enough specialists to meet growing demand.
Geoffrey Hinton, often referred to as the “Godfather of AI,” advised medical schools a decade ago to stop training new radiologists because he believed artificial intelligence would take over the profession in five to 10 years.
The prediction did not come to pass and has become a frequently cited example in discussions about AI’s impact on the workforce.
William Boonn, MD, a cardiovascular radiologist at Penn Medicine, said demand for radiologists has actually increased.
“Today, we don’t have enough. I think two things really happened,” he said. “First, people are living longer and imaging is used for more conditions than ever. But second, I think radiologists are also leaving the field faster than they used to.”
Burnout is one factor. Not only has the volume of scans increased, they’ve also become more complicated.
Patients are waiting longer and longer for their results.
Boonn also said the rapid advancement of AI discouraged some prospective students from entering the specialty. To help address some of those challenges, Boonn and fellow radiologist, Woojin Kim. founded Boring Radiology Inc., a company focused on using AI tools to assist radiologists.
Kim, who is an MSK Radiologist, said, “AI can handle all the mundane, the boring, repetitive stuff” as well as administrative and workflow tasks.
Boone says that includes “digging through reports, dealing with paperwork” and “slow, outdated computer systems.”
Boonn and Kim, longtime business partners have founded multiple AI companies, with the goal of supporting radiologists, not to replace them.
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“We want to make sure that the workforce stays healthy. So that’s where I see AI can really help,” Kim said.
Boone added that AI can “allow radiologists to do what they do best, which is interpreting the and taking care of patients.”
Both Kim and Boonn said they expect the profession to change dramatically as AI becomes more widely used, but they also believe human judgment and compassion will remain essential.
“I think anyone who has gone through some type of medical condition themselves or has taken care of people who are really ill, knows that the compassion is the thing that really matters,” Kim said.
Rather than focusing on whether AI could replace a job, Kim and Boonn said workers should consider how the technology can improve the work they do.
Their advice: Instead of asking, “How could A-I replace or change my job?” ask,”How can I use A-I to make it better?”
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