Technology is evolving fast—and it’s starting to mirror us in ways that are both fascinating and a little unsettling. As AI becomes part of our daily lives, it raises an important question: how do we stay human while working with machines that mimic us?
In this conversation with Vanessa Menendez-Covelo, we explore the intersection of Chinese medicine and artificial intelligence. With a background in both fields, Vanessa shares thoughtful insights on how AI tools can support, challenge, and even reshape our work as practitioners.
Listen into this discussion as we talk about writing clinical notes with AI, the ethics of machine-generated empathy, what happens when AI “learns” your voice, and how these tools might influence the future of medicine.
This isn’t a conversation about hype—it’s about curiosity, discernment, and remembering that the real wisdom in healing still comes from the human side of the equation.
In This Conversation We Discuss:
- How AI is already reshaping patient communication
- Writing clinical notes and treatment plans with AI support
- Using ChatGPT to improve communication with GPs
- Concerns about people using AI to “become” acupuncturists
- The emotional impact of accent-erasing AI and identity
- Empathy and “voice training” AI to reflect your tone
- Clinical case review using ChatGPT for reflection
- Exploring AI’s ability to reason vs. regurgitate
- The role of data quality in AI training and hallucinations
- Google’s NotebookLM and its educational applications
- Using AI for practice management and pattern recognition
- Ethical concerns about AI-generated clinical content
- The possibility of regulation and professional boundaries
- Human intelligence, adaptability, and what it really means to be “intelligent”
If you get the basics nailed down, you free up mental space for the complexity.
Vanessa Menendez-Covela
I worked in speech recognition systems and as a software engineer for investment banks before retraining as an acupuncturist. I run a small clinic in North London, UK and teach point location at the City College of Acupuncture.
I have contributed to the Spanish translation of the website of A Manual of Acupuncture and have had an article on AI and acupuncture published in the Journal of Chinese Medicine.
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