Radiologists Obsolete Within Five Years (by 2022)
Investor Vinod Khosla, 2017: 'The Role of the Radiologist Will Be Obsolete in Five Years'
The Sun Microsystems co-founder said machines would read scans better than doctors. Five years on, the field was short of radiologists, not surplus to them.
What was said
“The role of the radiologist will be obsolete in five years”
— Vinod Khosla (venture capitalist, Khosla Ventures; Sun Microsystems co-founder) · said Apr 2017 · due Within five years of April 2017
Radiologists were not obsolete by 2022. The New Republic reported in 2024 that the field faced 'a historic labor shortage.'
The fine print
Said on a podcast hosted by Color Genomics. Radiologists quoted by CNBC pushed back; one said the field still lacked 'clinically proven deep learning based applications outside of pilots and marketing hype.' In 2019 he raised the stakes, telling TechCrunch that 'any radiologist who plans to practice in 10 years will be killing patients every day.'
Sources
- Vinod Khosla: radiologists will be 'obsolete' in five years - CNBC (April 7, 2017)accessed 2026-10-09
- Why Vinod Khosla thinks radiologists still practicing in 10 years will be 'causing deaths' - TechCrunch (June 12, 2019)accessed 2026-10-09
- AI Was Supposed to Take Radiologists' Jobs. He Was Wrong. - The New Republic (2024)accessed 2026-10-09