Conversation Guests

• Host, Bruce Schneier, Health Data Watchman

• Guest, Dr. Leana Wen, Transparent Physician

Artificial intelligence is already making medical decisions—often without patients realizing it. In this episode of TEDMED Conversations, Bruce Schneier and Dr. Leana Wen unpack where AI is quietly saving lives, where it falls short, and why it may be “better than no doctor at all” in many settings. They challenge the idea of AI as a replacement for clinicians, arguing instead that the real stakes lie in how power, trust, and accountability are built into these systems. The conversation cuts through the hype to ask a harder question: how do we use AI to expand care without losing the human judgment medicine depends on?

Key Discussion Points & Timestamps

AI is already embedded in healthcare (00:00)Predictive AI vs. generative AI (02:13)Speed, scale, scope, and sophistication (06:09)Will AI widen or reduce health inequities? (13:23)How AI changes medical training and roles (18:03)Trust, transparency, and accountability (25:21)How patients should use AI today (29:17)

Quotes of the Episode

1. On access and scale

“AI may not be a perfect replacement for a doctor — but in many places, it’s a powerful replacement for no doctor at all.”

— Leana Wen

2. On augmentation vs. replacement

“The future of medicine isn’t AI instead of clinicians — it’s clinicians who know how to use AI replacing those who don’t.” — Leana Wen

3. On trust and transparency

“You can’t have trust without transparency — and transparency alone isn’t enough.”

— Bruce Schneier

More from Leana and Bruce

Dr. Leana Wen

Dr. Leana Wen is a practicing physician, healthcare executive, and one of America’s leading public health experts. She is a columnist for The Washington Post, where she writes a twice-weekly column on medicine and public health and anchors the Post newsletter, ”The Checkup with Dr. Wen”. Previously, she served as Baltimore’s Health Commissioner. She has authored two critically-acclaimed books, including most recently Lifelines: A Doctor’s Journey in the Fight for Public Health.

Recent articles and columns: https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/leana-s-wen/

Aggregated bibliography of recent published work: https://muckrack.com/leana-s-wen/articles

Additional background, books, and media appearances: https://drleanawen.com

Bruce Schneier

Bruce Schneier is an internationally recognized security technologist, author, and public-interest advocate whose work focuses on security, technology, and society. He is a Lecturer in Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School and a Fellow at Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society, and has advised governments, corporations, and civil society on cybersecurity, privacy, and emerging technologies. Schneier has written more than a dozen influential books and publishes the long-running blog Schneier on Security. His most recent book, Rewiring Democracy: How AI Will Transform Our Politics, Government, and Citizenship , examines how artificial intelligence is reshaping democratic institutions and argues for building trustworthy, accountable systems that serve the public interest.

More of Bruce Schneier’s writing and research on security, trust, and technology: https://www.schneier.com

Connect with our Guests

Dr. Leana Wen

• Website: https://drleanawen.com
• X:https://x.com/DrLeanaWen
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drleanawen/

Bruce Schneier

• Website: https://www.schneier.com
• X: https://x.com/schneierblog
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bruce.schneier/

Join the Conversation!

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