India, Feb. 18 -- The future of artificial intelligence was not just discussed on the 2nd day of the AI-Impact Summit - it was put to an immediate vote. In a lively session led by Professor David Yanagizawa-Drott, delegates were asked to choose how a hypothetical Indian State's health system should deploy AI in district hospitals: rely solely on doctors, hand decisions entirely to machines, or combine the two. At first, nearly 89 per cent backed "augmentation", with AI assisting doctors who retained final authority.

Even when told automation could cut labour costs by 25 per cent compared with 20 per cent for augmentation and none for the status quo, most stuck with the hybrid model. But when new evidence suggested AI-only systems might w...