The Job AI Was Supposed to Kill
Pity the poor radiologists.
Or, as we'll find out, the rich radiologists.
Ten years ago, Geoffrey Hinton – known as one of the three "Godfathers of AI" – predicted they'd be replaced by computers.
He had a good argument...
Radiologists spend their days reviewing X-rays, MRIs, and other imaging results to diagnose patients. It's a bit of an odd specialty... involving less bedside patient care and more time staring at a computer screen.
And at the time of Hinton's prediction, AI had already made big advances in image recognition. By reviewing thousands of already diagnosed images, a machine-learning program could deliver results as accurately as a human – and much faster.
So everyone started thinking: If a computer can read scans as well as a radiologist, why do we need radiologists at all?
Fast-forward to today...
Radiologists are still the third-highest-paid specialists in the medical field, earning an average of $571,000 per year, as of 2025. That's up 9% from the prior year and tied with ophthalmologists for the second-largest gain.
On top of that, the U.S. actually has a shortage of radiologists.
So, what happened?
Hinton wasn't wrong about technology. AI image recognition got very good very quickly. And radiologists use it all the time.
Rather, Hinton was wrong about how technology interacted with society.
According to a 2025 report from the Journal of the American Medical Association, AI has made radiologists 40% more productive. And since hospitals get paid per test, that means a single radiologist can make them 40% more money.
So hospitals want more radiologists today. Not fewer.
There's an important lesson here...
The people closest to AI may know a lot about how the technology works and what it will do in the future.
But they don't know any more than we do about how it will really affect the world. That's a question for economists, sociologists, policymakers, and philosophers.
Perhaps AI experts know how advanced the technology will get and how quickly – but it's entirely possible they're caught in a frenzy of groupthink.
Mustafa Suleyman, the CEO of Microsoft AI, told the Financial Times this February that white-collar workers such as lawyers, accountants, and project managers will be fully automated by AI within the next year or so.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei proclaimed last year that AI could wipe out half of all entry-level white-collar jobs within five years.
We know to ignore such nonsense...
If AI makes people more productive, companies will want to hire more of them. Productivity increases output, leads to new opportunities, and raises the value of skilled workers. The radiology example proves it.
In all cases, aside from AI reaching a point of true superintelligence, that's the pattern we expect to see.
Could there be a rise in unemployment? Yes. Will certain roles become obsolete, resulting in individuals losing jobs and needing to retrain for different roles? Also, yes.
But keep in mind, the AI leaders making bold predictions also have big reasons to push the AI story. They're trying to hype up their own tech to keep boosting their valuations.
History suggests there will still be jobs. More productive workers won't become irrelevant. They'll become more valuable.
But folks love to forecast that AI will make entire companies obsolete...
Right now, there's one particular giant that the market has soured on because of its uncertain relationship with AI. However, we'd argue that – like radiologists – this company will only get better with AI.
It's a cash-gushing business that's trading at an extremely low valuation. We believe it's easily one of the best deals in the market today. And as the company makes moves to adapt to and integrate AI, it'll only become stronger.
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Here's to our health, wealth, and a great retirement,
Dr. David Eifrig and the Health & Wealth Bulletin Research Team
August 19, 2026