Chapter 1: AI (1)

“First-year residents, please move inside one by one. Yes, over there. Through that door. Do not touch anything else.”

Yang Wonjun, the head of Education and Training at Taehwa University Hospital, gestured towards the large research laboratory with pride on his face. He was also a professor teaching anatomy in basic medical studies.

‘They have never seen anything like this before.’

Unlike other university-affiliated laboratories, this room lacked any chemical odors. Instead, it was filled with the hum of machinery.

“Woah… This is…”

“It’s incredible.”

The first-year Internal Medicine residents from Taehwa University Hospital, following Yang Wonjun, entered the room and marveled at the massive screen before them.

Lee Suhyuk, standing right at the front, shared their sentiment.

“Wow…”

Suhyuk’s jaw dropped even more than his peers’, unable to tear his eyes away from the sight before him.

‘This is…the Baruda.’

He murmured as he gazed at the massive screen and the enormous hardware setup behind it. This very equipment was one of the reasons why Lee Suhyuk, who graduated with excellent grades from Taehwa University School of Medicine - attracting the best students in South Korea - chose Internal Medicine for his residency.

I hope…orthopedics, physical therapy, and ENT departments also find this beneficial…

It was embarrassing to admit, but when choosing his specialty, Suhyuk prioritized future prospects over personal fulfillment. In that sense, selecting Internal Medicine could be considered somewhat adventurous.

Although internal medicine was considered one of the most important fields in modern medicine, it wasn’t known for being particularly lucrative.

“Wow.”

“Amazing.”

Even as Suhyuk momentarily got lost in his thoughts, exclamations continued to echo around him.

Yang Wonjun waited with a gentle smile, accustomed to this reaction. It was inevitable, given that Baruda had never been revealed to the general public before. Its achievements were occasionally highlighted, but seeing it in person elicited an even greater sense of awe.

“Hmm.” He spoke again once the first-year students’ commotion subsided.

“This is ‘Baruda,’ an AI diagnostic tool currently under joint development by Taehwa University Hospital professors and Taehwa Electronics.”

Baruda - named after the Korean word for “to heal,” this AI was renowned as having the highest potential among all existing diagnostic AI systems.

The AI named ‘Baruda’ after the Korean word for ‘healing’ was evaluated as having the highest potential among all existing diagnostic AI systems. Compared to Watson from the United States, which had been under development for nearly ten years, Baruda was still at its infancy stage. However, being a late entrant allowed for superior hardware and software advancements from the outset.

In fact, due to numerous setbacks, Watson’s project neared cancellation levels, making Baruda currently the most anticipated diagnostic AI system in development.

‘It also carries the concerns of the medical association on its shoulders.’

Suhyuk nodded while observing the massive main unit, matching the grandeur displayed on the screen. The purpose of Baruda was for physicians to input their examination findings and patient history, allowing it to search through an enormous database to provide the most accurate diagnosis.

Given the vastness and rapid development of medical knowledge, commercialization of such equipment was still far off. However, with a few adjustments to variables, its diagnostic accuracy could be quite impressive.

“Please observe. When we input this data…”

Yang Wonjun, the head of education and training, entered information from the Internal Medicine classroom into Baruda. This included patient gender, age, symptoms, onset timing, physical examination findings, blood test results, etc., essentially all the tests conducted within the hospital.

Whirr.

As soon as the input was complete, Baruda hummed loudly, processed the data swiftly, and produced an output.

Patient Park Sangki

1. Pneumonia due to pneumococcus - 89%

2. Tuberculosis (TB) - 8%

[3. Other viral pneumonia, 3 percent]

The output was at a level where first-year residents could barely understand it. However, instead of Yang Wonjun, who headed education and training, one of the researchers provided further explanation. While Yang Wonjun looked proud throughout, this researcher seemed somewhat bitter.

“Baruda diagnosed the patient with pneumonia due to Streptococcus pneumoniae. Unfortunately, the diagnosis from professors of pulmonology and radiology indicated tuberculosis. This error is not because Baruda lacks computational power but rather due to inaccuracies in the inputted data.”

He continued speaking for some time, but his summary boiled down to the following:

Baruda currently lacked human-like senses such as sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. In other words, it did not possess visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, or tactile perception.

Due to this limitation, the information directly obtainable from patients was extremely restricted. Limited input inevitably led to inaccurate output. Consequently, Watson, the AI developed by IBM, had been struggling with similar issues.

The research team at Taehwa Hospital, as latecomers in this field, were acutely aware of these challenges. However, given the current state of technology, replicating human senses such as vision, olfaction, hearing, and touch proved highly difficult.

“That’s why, contrary to the concerns raised by the Medical Association, Baruda is not close to commercialization yet. While we’re diligently researching…we haven’t achieved any significant results. At least, there won’t be any change before you all become licensed specialists and enter the field. So, don’t worry too much about Baruda for now.”

The researcher’s words caused the first-year residents to chuckle softly. However, none of them had bright expressions on their faces. They were more concerned about tomorrow than the distant future when Baruda might be commercially available.

For these newly minted interns, who were soon to embark on their first year of service, thoughts of the impending hell starting from tomorrow overshadowed any considerations of Baruda or other such matters.

‘One hundred days of night shifts…’

Suhyuk, too, found himself preoccupied with Baruda despite his concerns. In a way, Internal Medicine was considered the specialty closest to dealing with death itself, which often made it somewhat avoided by others. Consequently, training within this field was exceptionally rigorous. After all, handling human lives left no room for carelessness. The shared understanding among the first-year residents created a palpable tension in the air.

“Then let’s observe for a moment…huh?” The researcher nodded as he observed the same reaction from first-year students that had been occurring for several years now. He then turned towards Baruda.

Kreeeeeeeek!

A strange noise was emanating from Baruda. Under normal circumstances, this sound should never have occurred, and it gradually increased in volume, becoming clearly audible.

“This…why is this happening?”

The researcher specialized in software, so they were not well-versed in hardware issues. Consequently, they didn’t immediately recognize the danger indicated by the sound. They only vaguely sensed that something was amiss.

“Ouch, it’s hot!”

However, when they inadvertently touched Baruda and felt enough heat to cause blisters on their palm, they realized, albeit belatedly, that regardless of the cause, Baruda was on the verge of exploding.

‘T-this!’

The researcher considered calling for someone from hardware support but quickly realized there were more pressing matters at hand when he looked around him. He wasn’t alone; dozens of first-year residents were also present. Regardless of what was happening, evacuation should be their top priority.

“G-get everyone out! It’s going to explode!” With that shout, he pushed through the panicking residents and ran outside himself.

“What is he talking about?”

“What will explode?”

Initially, most people seemed confused by his warning.

“Hey, hey! Look over there!”

“Shit, run!”

However, once some noticed Baruda’s unusual behavior, they began fleeing en masse. Amidst the chaos, Suhyuk tripped near the front, but no one bothered to help him up.

Beeeeep!

Regardless of the researcher’s cries, Baruda’s body began to tremble. It looked like it was about to explode, causing everyone to scramble out the door as fast as they could.

“The door! Close the door!”

The researcher, who had been the first one to escape, shouted while pointing at the entrance. Yang Wonjun, Head of Education and Training, hurriedly followed him with a panicked expression but paused when he noticed someone still inside.

“W-wait!” Suhyuk had just gotten back on his feet and was trying to run towards the exit.

“H-hold on!” However, Baruda exploded, and the researcher grimaced before slamming the door shut.

For a brief moment, he felt guilty, but it wasn’t enough to overcome his fear of death.

“I-it’s too late! If we get caught up in that…we could be injured!”

“Still!”

Wonjun slightly opened and pulled at the door, but honestly, it was just for show. Naturally, the door remained firmly shut.

“You bastards!” Suhyuk reached the door, cursed, and then lost consciousness.

Boom!

Baruda had exploded. It wasn’t due to normal overheating; otherwise, the explosion wouldn’t have been this intense.

“Cough cough.”

After approximately ten minutes, the door where Suhyuk and Baruda were trapped reopened.

The fire brigade personnel on standby rushed to the scene. They entered with extinguishers and soon discovered Suhyuk lying near the door.

“Head! He has a head injury!”

“The leg…the leg too…”

Suhyuk had severe bleeding from his right temple and left shin. The staff quickly transferred him onto a hospital bed.

“Hey! Be careful!”

A piece of metal lodged in his leg made a clanging noise as it hit the bed.

“Hurry! Call Neurosurgery, Internal Medicine, and Orthopedics!” Yang Wonjun urgently shouted after witnessing this.

As colleagues and friends, the first-year residents started making calls to save Suhyuk’s life.

Meanwhile, the bed started moving towards the main hospital building amidst loud noises.

Drrr.

Suhyuk was unconscious, and the sound of the bed rolling felt like a dream to him.

[A.I. Baruda, rebooting.]

Amidst this chaos, Suhyuk heard a strange noise that sounded incredibly vivid, drowning out everything else.

“Operation room! Start with his head first! What’s embedded there?”

Thanks to this, he couldn’t hear any other urgent voices outside.

[Database loss detected. Please input data.]

His mind was filled only with these mysterious mechanical sounds.