Well before the advent of ChatGPT, popular culture has explored how technology might affect healthcare, often with a dystopian bent.

Take, for example, the 2013 film Elysium, set in 2154 (spoilers ahead).

Matt Damon’s character, Max, is exposed to a lethal dose of radiation after his factory supervisor threatens to fire him if he doesn’t perform a dangerous task. Because he can’t afford to lose his job, Max does it, but when he steps into the room, his face tells us what will happen next: his health — and life — will be forfeited to the production line.

Cut to Max lying on a metal table, a robot looming over him. In an electronic voice, the robot/doctor tells him he has mere days to live.