Not everyone works for Evil Corp. I work in the public sector and my work supports public health and safety initiatives. AI has allowed my team to get much more done than we would have otherwise which improves the quality of life of the people in my community.
So I would like to counter your cynicism with a “YMMV” depending on who you work for.
Are you just automating lab reporting and results faster? That doesn’t exactly improve the health of others, a faster lab does not cure an ailment or provide a better cure.
Like cool my lung xray only took minutes to determine if I have a lesion instead of a week or a few days, but I still have cancer.
Faster scans means more scans. More scans means getting scans earlier and tracking abnormalities on scans over time. This can lead to earlier intervention, which means you get treatment for the cancer when it’s stage 2 instead of stage 3 or 4, which maybe is the difference between living a full life and dying young.
So I would like to counter your cynicism with a “YMMV” depending on who you work for.