Artificial intelligence now outperforms human doctors in empathy ratings 87% of the time, according to a recent study. But as Jeremy Howick, an expert on empathic healthcare, argues in his latest article, this alarming statistic reveals more about our broken healthcare system than about AI’s capabilities. “The wonder isn’t that AI appears more empathic,” he writes, “it’s that human healthcare professionals manage any empathy at all.”

Professor Howick explores why exhausted, burned-out doctors trapped in paperwork are losing the empathy battle to machines, and makes a compelling case that we’re heading in exactly the wrong direction. Rather than using AI to handle administrative tasks so doctors can focus on human connection, we risk replacing the very thing that makes healthcare healing: genuine human care.

Also this week: despite claims of a “peaceful” death, science shows that nitrogen gas executions and euthanasia devices cause terrifying suffocation. Read why this method is anything but humane. Plus, discover how Russia and China are using half-truths and emotional manipulation to quietly reshape how we see democracy.