‘The Pitt’ Just Introduced a Controversial Storyline That Could Have Major Implications for the ER

Editor's note: The below contains spoilers for The Pitt Season 2 Episode 2.

What makes The Pitt so fascinating for viewers and critics alike is just how realistic it is. Taking place in the ER of the fictional Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center, the HBO Max series is set in real time in a world where anything can happen. Season 1 offered everything from abuse to drug overdoses, as well as, in the most tense episodes, the aftermath of a mass shooting. The Pitt Season 2 will surely boast more shocking scenes, but two hours in, the real anxiety might lie within the fear of the unknown.

Dr. Michael "Robby" Robinavitch (Noah Wyle) is one shift away from a much-deserved sabbatical, but it's not going to be an easy 15 hours with Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi (Sepideh Moafi) standing over his shoulder. The two have drastically different teaching styles and have already butted heads before the new attending reveals her desire to implement AI in the ER. It's the last thing Robby wants, but given its controversial use in real life, it's exactly what The Pitt needs to tackle this season.

Dr. Al-Hashimi's Methods Don't Align With Robby's in 'The Pitt' Season 2

Last season on The Pitt, Dr. Robby was really going through it. As the senior attending physician at an overwhelmingly busy and understaffed hospital, he was constantly on the go. On top of that, he was also trying to deal with the anniversary of his mentor's death, which led to an emotional breakdown by season's end. When first seen in Season 2, Robby reveals he's about to take a three-month break, but as he prepares to go on sabbatical, two people are currently threats to his peace of mind.

Dr. Robert Langdon (Patrick Ball), whom Robby previously kicked out of the hospital for stealing prescription drugs, is back and wants to talk, despite Robby's efforts to avoid him. Even more frustrating is Robby's replacement, Dr. Al-Hashimi, who follows Robby everywhere he goes in an effort to understand his approach to medicine. While Robby is old school, depending on the training and skill of his doctors, Al-Hashimi is all about efficiency, stressing the use of patient passports and AI to make the process faster. This storyline is already creating some compelling drama on The Pitt, but it's not all rooted in fiction.

AI Has Become a Part of Modern Healthcare

Last year, it seemed like you couldn't go a day without either reading about some wild advancement in AI or a controversial story about its inherent risks. Artificial intelligence so quickly became a part of daily life that it led TIME to name "The Architects of AI" as Person of the Year. The Pitt has already held a mirror up to several unflinching aspects of healthcare, and Season 2 now aims to tackle the rise of AI in the ER setting, as creator and EP R. Scott Gemmill revealed in an interview with the LA Times:

"I would say it's still in its infancy in the ER, but there are ways that it's trying to be implemented. Like any other tool, it has potential to be used wisely and potential for disaster. We're not really exploring the disastrous side of it yet but just what the realities are. The fear is that it will make the doctors more efficient, especially with things like charting, but then will that time go back to the patients or will they just have to see more patients? And so they'll have even less time. That's the challenge at this point."

Dr. Alok Patel of Stanford Medicine Children's Hospital echoed this sentiment in an interview with NPR about The Pitt's new Season 2 storyline: "I swear to God, they make health care workers' lives more efficient. They make things such as charting faster." Patel acknowledged Robby's worries, though, adding his own concern that, while AI can double the number of patients seen in a day, hospitals will only consider the financial upside without adding more physical resources to handle the uptick in cases.

Could the Use of AI Lead to Disaster on 'The Pitt' Season 2?

One of the recurring themes in The Pitt Season 1 was the hospital's staffing problem, and any fan of AI might consider those tools as a way to fix that issue, given that it's resulting in faster charting. However, how will this implementation affect the very human doctors? They may end up seeing patients faster, but their increased workload could result in more stress and increase the chance of mistakes.

In The Pitt's latest episode, when Dr. Al-Hashimi is showing the team how quickly the AI app can create a patient chart, one of the doctors notices a critical error: the AI has prescribed the wrong medicine for a patient. Thankfully, the error is caught ahead of time, yet it's easy to imagine a scenario where a tired doctor either overlooks the mistake or doesn't double-check to verify that the AI's recommendation is accurate.

While The Pitt Season 2 is only looking at the realities of AI right now, the hook has been dropped, and there's every chance that implementing this technology could lead to a bigger tragedy. Despite Robby's personal and professional distaste for AI, this is a battle he won't win in the long run, but he'll be there to save the day if the risks ultimately outweigh the benefits in the ER.