So you’ve got an ache, a pain or a rash, and you look online only to discover your worst fears—and no one to talk to. Ugh. Before you know it, you’re convinced you’re dying and new symptoms have been psychosomatically activated. Self-diagnosis without context or conversation has profound pitfalls. Now, there’s a new approach likely coming to a digital device near you. The first is Baidu’s artificial intelligence doctor, Melody the Medical Assistant, a conversational chat bot trained on medical textbooks and tested with doctors and medical students in China. It shows the evolution AI has been making online and the way it’s edging into healthcare. Spyglass has had the chance to work with some of the biggest names in healthcare and several very bright start-ups and many virtual assistant apps along the way, so this was of particular interest to us.