Utah is launching a one-year pilot that allows an AI system to examine patients and prescribe medication without direct human oversight, making it the first state to do so. A startup called Nolla Health will offer a $4.99/month app for people with mild-to-moderate acne: users scan their face, complete a medical-history form, and the AI analyzes skin, scores acne severity and oiliness, then recommends one of eight approved topical treatments. The rollout is phased: the first 100 prescriptions must be reviewed by doctors before submission, the next 400 will be issued by the AI and reviewed retrospectively by physicians weekly, and the final phase will have doctors review at least 10% of prescriptions monthly.
The program limits medications to topical agents that, according to Nolla’s CEO, mainly cause localized irritation or dryness, but it raises broader questions about AI replacing clinicians for routine care. Advocates may see efficiency gains and greater access for low-risk conditions; critics point to documented harms from misleading AI medical advice and recent removals of AI health features by major companies over accuracy concerns. The pilot’s narrow scope and staged oversight are intended safeguards, but it functions as an early test of how autonomous AI could be integrated into prescribing workflows.
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Cracked versions of Photopea are hosted on multiple GitHub repositories, despite the developer's efforts to remove them. GitHub declined to act on a DMCA takedown notice, leaving the developer frustrated. (news.ycombinator.com)
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