No, AI cannot screen STIs with a picture

Umm, how did I miss this story? An app called Calmara had gotten funding to diagnose STIs by looking at pictures. The claim was that they could use AI in order to look for abnormalities. They also claimed they could do this with one picture of a penis.

I am *all for decreasing the stigma of sexual health and improving screening. We have come a long way since I started in medicine. At the time, there were multiple discussions on disclosure, how to decrease stigma and get people tested. We had to work through a lot of it due to HIV, but almost all STIs suffer from stigma and people feeling shame. I am glad we have come a ways from that - screening and open discussions on prevention have helped. And all of us deserve better sexual health.

But this will not do it.

Firstly, this does not work to diagnose. No matter how good your AI is this will not work. Many STIs are 1) asymptomatic 2) cannot be 'seen' or are not visible between outbreaks.

Secondly, Others can still contract and get these diseases even if they can't see them. But. Let's say there is an active outbreak, one miiight be able to say it looks like herpes/genital warts. But it's not a guarantee. We would still follow up with a test or screening.

Claiming that this AI can diagnose and screen is dangerous for two reasons:
1) Even in the example of someone with Herpes, someone can still have these diseases without an outbreak. And you cannot see a number of other STIs at all.

2) Worse - it decreases *decades* of education on sexual health and awareness by saying you can diagnose STIs by looking at something. What if someone thinks they are fine due to being cleared? Are we really trying to go back there?

We cannot diagnose with images, in general, so how are we assuming AI will be able to? We have to use AI at what it CAN do.

Also, imagine any breach of security.

This company is getting shut down. A quote from an article about it encapsulated this perfectly:

"The founders did not adequately explain how they would protect sensitive user information and prevent minors from accessing the app. They also had little proof that the tool actually worked, with no peer-reviewed studies or clearance from the Food and Drug Administration."

Well then.