Google's new AI tool helps you diagnose skin conditions

Google has developed an AI tool that can help users learn about their skin conditions through smartphones. The tool uses a camera to capture and analyze images of users’ hair, skin, and nails to give possible causes for various skin conditions and whether or not they have them. The AI takes its cue from Google’s data monitoring of its users, who often cross-reference photos from Google Images with their symptoms.

All you need to do is to take photographs of the affected area of your skin. The app processes the images, asks users the duration of their symptoms, and uses those answers to reach a more accurate list of possible diagnoses by pulling an archival knowledge of 288 skin conditions and cross-referencing 65,000 skin images.

Zoom Out: While a real-life dermatologist is still preferred, the AI app, going live later this year, is an incredibly helpful tool in diagnosing the 2 billion people affected by skin conditions globally per year. Tools such as this one are vital for providing access to life-saving healthcare in developing nations worldwide where the supply of trained healthcare providers is severely limited. AI continues to transform modern healthcare as we know it. The applications are vast, spanning the entirety of healthcare from advancing breast cancer diagnosis to formulating vaccines for viral variants.