---
id: "question-doctor-definition"
type: "open-question"
source_timestamps: ["§ The Human Capital Dilemma"]
tags: ["healthcare", "human-capital", "future-of-work"]
related: ["claim-human-capital-roi", "concept-risk-vs-uncertainty"]
resolution_path: "Requires observing the regulatory and technological integration of AI diagnostic and robotic systems in healthcare over the next decade."
sources: ["futures"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-futures"
originDay: 2
articleStem: "hbr-foci-72-future-ai-fog"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2026/04/the-future-is-shrouded-in-an-ai-fog"
sourceTitle: "The Future Is Shrouded in an AI Fog"
---
# What Is the Definition of a 'Doctor' in 2035?

**Open question:** What will a medical doctor actually *be* in 2035 — a diagnostician, a bedside counselor, a procedure performer, an overseer of an AI triage system, or merely a signatory on liability forms? The unanswerability of this question exemplifies the [[concept-risk-vs-uncertainty|true uncertainty]] deterring human-capital investment ([[claim-human-capital-roi]]).

**Resolution path:** Observe the regulatory and technological integration of AI diagnostic and robotic systems in healthcare over the next decade. Fits the broader **future-of-work / task-substitution-vs-augmentation** and **hybrid professions** literature.