Professor and Chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco Robert Wachter discusses his new book, Giant Leap: How AI Is Transforming Healthcare and What That Means for Our Future. Wachter examines how generative artificial intelligence is already beginning to reshape hospitals, clinics, and the broader healthcare system—from drafting notes and answering patient questions to supporting diagnosis, treatment recommendations, imaging interpretation, and surgical care.
As AI becomes increasingly present in medicine, A Giant Leap moves beyond both hype and skepticism to consider the human choices that will determine whether these tools improve care or introduce new risks. Blending clinical insight, extensive research, and interviews with leaders across medicine, technology, policy, and business, Wachter offers an essential roadmap for understanding how AI may transform what it means to care—and be cared for—in the years ahead.
Robert Wachter is Professor and Chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). He has appeared on Modern Healthcare magazine’s list of the 50 most influential physician-executives in the US more than a dozen times; he was #1 on the list in 2015. An elected member of the National Academy of Medicine, he coined the term “hospitalist” and is considered the father of the hospitalist field, the fastest-growing specialty in the history of medicine. He is the author of five books, including the New York Times bestseller The Digital Doctor.
