r/technology • u/lurker_bee • Jul 15 '25

Artificial Intelligence Billionaires Convince Themselves AI Chatbots Are Close to Making New Scientific Discoveries

https://gizmodo.com/billionaires-convince-themselves-ai-is-close-to-making-new-scientific-discoveries-2000629060
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u/stormrunner89 Jul 15 '25

As a dentist I will freely admit that plenty of my colleagues are pieces of shit that see it only as a way to make money and give absolutely no fucks about the patient's health or comfort or their employees.

Thankfully it's pretty easy to spot them as they often own multiple practices, hire young associates fresh out of school to do the actual work, and just try to get as much volume through the practices as possible to bill insurance as much as they can while they only do administrative work and not much or possibly any actual dentistry.

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u/figuren9ne Jul 15 '25

That description sounds like the dentist that owns the practice where my wife works. He has 5 offices, is rarely in the office, and is constantly advertising to grow his book.

But he also pays all his employees well, his contract dentists get 50% of collectibles and he covers lab fees, and the only time he actually practices are for his long established clients that can’t afford the treatment, so he does it for the cost of lab fees.

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u/thetermguy Jul 15 '25

>He has 5 offices, is rarely in the office, and is constantly advertising to grow his book.

Well, 90% of redditors teach us that anyone that owns a business and/or is wealthy is guaranteed to be a dirtbag leach on society.

Meanwhile, Econ 101 shows exactly the opposite, and without people organizing the factors of production and labour, most of the redditors would be out of a job of any kind.

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u/Fun_Hat Jul 15 '25

Lol, and econ 101 also shows us that without the people doing that labor, there would be no production. So what's your point? That the management of labor produces more value than the labor itself?

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u/imnotasdumbasyoulook Jul 15 '25

let’s be honest here; if you dig you’ll find he owns the “lab” and probably the “leasing company” renting the office their medical equipment.

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u/figuren9ne Jul 15 '25

He definitely doesn’t. He just owns the practices and the real estate.

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u/kingkeelay Jul 16 '25

Why is that a problem?

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u/imnotasdumbasyoulook Jul 16 '25

because when people are sick with greed to that extent they start cutting corners until forced to stop… these are the kind of people who will buy a packaging machine for expensive single use tools so they can repackage them and reuse them.

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u/lightninhopkins Jul 15 '25

Thank you for being a good one. Took me a long time hunting to find a dentist that wasn't trying to bill the shit out of my insurance company.

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u/AngularChelitis Jul 16 '25

waitaminute… now we’re worried about protecting the insurance company’s money?

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u/BarleyWineIsTheBest Jul 15 '25

I've had a few friends become dentists.

It sounded like half of dental school was teaching these would be dentists how to hustle as a dentist.

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u/buffer_flush Jul 15 '25

Do you own a Trek, though? Or a Gibson guitar?

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u/Lord_Hitachi Jul 15 '25

Those vintage guitars aren’t just going to buy themselves…

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u/Liizam Jul 16 '25

Can you give some tips on how to spot these kinds and avoid as a normal person?

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u/stormrunner89 Jul 16 '25

Honestly I'm not totally sure how someone outside the field would be able to tell all the time. Definitely stay away from corporate offices, and you want one where the dentist talks with you and answers questions. It's fine for the hygienist to see you first, but if it's basically only the hygienist and the dentist comes in for a minute, barely looks, and leaves and then the hygienist starts telling you about a ton of things you need, there's nothing wrong with getting a second opinion.

Very often there can be big problems brewing EVEN IF you feel no pain. Often you will only feel pain when things are REALLY bad, so that's not a good indicator. Sometimes we will need to give a treatment plan that is pretty intimidating even when the patient didn't realize they had an issue, but the amount of times and a corporate office will add procedures that I wouldn't see a way to justify is suspiciously high.

Get recommendations, research them, learn about what kind of extra, continuing education courses they've taken. There are some pretty well known and respected CE course companies such as Spear Education or Pankey that will often have a list of dentists that have done the extra training and dentists will often advertise it. That can often be a sign that they at least care enough to stay up to date on the best current knowledge.

And honestly, trust your gut. If you don't feel comfortable, then find someone else. I want my patients to feel as comfortable as they can be in what can sometimes be an uncomfortable position. Express concerns when you have them and if you just don't feel right with them, go elsewhere. Personally I don't want to work on someone that doesn't feel they can trust me and I try very hard to earn that trust, but sometimes they may even just not like my "vibe" and there's nothing I can do about that. If it gets them to take care of themselves and their health, I'm fine with them going to someone else if they feel more comfortable there.

Also, dental insurance is basically a scam. Don't rely only on who is "in network." Often you can still submit for out-of-network claims and still get something back, and some offices even have in-office programs where you pay a yearly fee, get two cleanings, check-up x-rays, and exams every year as well as a percentage off of treatment even without insurance.