By Futurist Thomas Frey
The Question Nobody Thought to Ask
What if instead of analyzing your cancer, you could interview it? Not metaphorically—literally ask your tumor what it needs to survive, why it’s growing, what would kill it most effectively. What if your autoimmune disease could explain exactly why your immune system is attacking your body and what would make it stop?
This isn’t science fiction. It’s the logical endpoint of AI-powered diagnostic systems that can simulate complex biological processes and translate them into conversational interfaces. And it changes everything about how we diagnose, treat, and understand disease.
The concept comes from software engineering: “talking to the defect.” When code fails, instead of manually debugging thousands of lines, AI systems can simulate the defect’s behavior and explain—in plain language—what’s wrong, why it’s happening, and how to fix it. AI business developer Dave Blundin articulated this breakthrough in diagnostic methodology: give the problem a voice.
Now extend that concept to medicine. Your illness becomes your diagnostic partner. The defect in your body explains itself. The disease that’s killing you tells you how to kill it first.
Let me walk you through why this represents fundamental transformation in medical diagnosis, what becomes possible when diseases can explain themselves, and how quickly this shifts from theoretical to clinical reality.
Continue reading… “Talking to the Defect: When Your Disease Becomes Your Diagnostic Partner”