Media Ecology and AI Scribes

This presentation explores the media ecology of modern healthcare, framing technology not as a tool, but as a transformative environment. Grounded in Marshall McLuhan’s insights, that “fish don’t know water exists until they’re out of it,” a metaphor that specifies how invisible our digital environments often are to us. Only when those environments change do we recognize their presence and power, reshaping our values, redefining our relationships, and influencing how we make sense of reality itself. This discussion examines how AI and EHRs have shifted clinical documentation from narrative storytelling to "architectural," executable data.

While AI scribes enhance efficiency, they redefine professional agency and clinical reasoning. By treating AI as a medium rather than a passive instrument, clinicians can navigate this digital "water" intentionally, ensuring human judgment remains the primary architect of care in an increasingly automated world (Leung et al., 2025).

Journal article Video Overview:

Reference:

Leung, T. I., Coristine, A. J., & Benis, A. (2025). AI Scribes in Health Care: Balancing Transformative Potential With Responsible Integration. JMIR Medical Informatics, 13(1), e80898. https://doi.org/10.2196/80898

Summary: This journal article examines the emergence of ambient AI scribes as a solution to the administrative exhaustion and burnout faced by medical professionals. These technologies use large language models to listen to patient encounters and automatically produce clinical documentation, theoretically allowing doctors to focus more on personal interaction. While early data suggests significant time savings, the authors highlight critical risks regarding fictitious data, diagnostic inaccuracies, and the potential erosion of a physician's critical thinking skills. It also identifies a lack of research concerning patient perspectives and the long-term economic impact of widespread adoption. Ultimately, the source serves as a formal call for more rigorous scientific study to ensure these tools are integrated safely and ethically into the healthcare system.

A Mind Map from Journal article