The Telegraph My details My newsletters Logout Upgrade to Premium My details My newsletters Logout The Telegraph Computers will outperform doctors at diagnosing illnesses, says government technology adviser [rexfeatures_5669897a_doctor_trans_NvBQzQNjv4Bqeo_i_u9APj8RuoebjoAHt0k9 artificial intelligence meant computers would be able to outperform doctors Credit: Rex 1 June 2016 • 8:42pm Computers will soon outperform even the best doctors at diagnosing illnesses, because of the rapid growth of processing power, a government technology adviser has said.
 Richard Susskind, an Oxford professor who has advised governments around the world, said that in the coming years, patients would be able to take pictures of their ailments and receive an accurate, computer-generated diagnosis.
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 Richard Susskind is IT Adviser to the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, and chairman of the Advisory Board of the Oxford Internet Institute.
 Credit: Oxford Internet Institute Appearing at the Hay Festival, sponsored by the Telegraph, Prof Susskind said that advances in artificial intelligence will result in the decline of the traditional professions, such as accountancy, the law, and medicine, as computers become adept at performing the roles of experts.
 He said: “It’s no longer science fiction.
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 In our view a lot of these technologies will be coming through in the 2020s.
 "We’re not saying that doctors are going to be replaced overnight, we’re not even saying in the 2020s, but we are saying that the practical impact of artificial intelligence research coming out of research laboratories is remarkable.
” Children in a coding lesson Children in a coding lesson Credit: Paul Grover Referring to the field of medicine, Prof Susskind gave the example of skin disorders.