The Friday letter

Once a week, the version worth keeping: the week's developments, why they matter, and specific recommendations. It goes to subscribers by email on Friday mornings and lands here the same day.

• 
  Oct 31 to Nov 5, 2026Running up the tabSaveShare

  AI was sold to medicine as a way to save time and money. This week's evidence suggests it often spends both, and it should be paid for only when it saves them.

• 
  Oct 24 to 29, 2026Out of the loopSaveShare

  Medicine's answer to every worry about AI is a human who checks the machine's work. Almost nobody checks how well the humans do, and somebody should.

• 
  Oct 17 to 22, 2026Separate checksSaveShare

  Software meant to save medicine time is sending its bills downstream, to the nurses who recheck it and the hospitals that host it. Whoever profits from it should pay for the checking.

• 
  Oct 10 to 15, 2026Absent friendsSaveShare

  Doctors ask software how to treat their patients millions of times a month, yet its rules are being written with few of them in the room. They should claim their seats.

• 
  Oct 3 to 8, 2026Show your workSaveShare

  Software is gaining the power to prescribe, triage and code faster than anyone is checking its results. It should earn that power by publishing its errors.

• 
  Sept 26 to Oct 1, 2026A duty to consultSaveShare

  America's health secretary says AI is better informed than any doctor. Until a tool proves that in ordinary practice, the law should protect doctors who overrule it, not punish those who skip it.

• 
  Sept 19 to 25, 2026Sign hereSaveShare

  Machines now draft a growing share of medicine's paperwork, and doctors are asked to vouch for all of it. They should not sign on the present terms.

• 
  Sept 12 to 18, 2026Priced before provenSaveShare

  Medicare is deciding what to pay for AI care before anyone knows how well it works. Doctors should fight over the terms, not the technology.