The Pitt season 2 episode 2’s new trauma is more disastrous than any medical emergency — and it’s all thanks to AI

WARNING: spoilers for The Pitt season 2 episode 2 ahead.

Good grief is this place going to be my undoing, and I don't even work there. Last week was a chaotic return to The Pitt season 2, which has now shifted 10 months forward since the season 1 finale. That lands us in the thick of the Fourth of July weekend, which is all but asking for trouble.

Dr. Robby (Noah Wyle) can't even plan to take a short sabbatical without things devolving into chaos before his eyes, with Langdon (Patrick Ball) busy trying to make amends for his season 1 sins, and Mel (Taylor Dearden) freaking out over an upcoming deposition. This is really only the tip of the iceberg in the HBO Max show, but it's new recruit Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi (Sepideh Moafi) who is completely changing the game.

She's joined the team to replace Robby while he's away for the next three months, and quickly insists on shadowing him to 'learn' how he runs the ship. However, this is a thinly-veiled code for "actually, I'm going to change all current processes before you even step a toe out of the door."

The biggest change Al-Hashimi wants to implement is an automated patient processing system. Everything from note taking and organizing to diagnosis and treatment plans will be taken care of through a cloud-based system, leaving doctors more time to improve patient relations, as Al-Hashimi puts it.

As the new system takes hold in The Pitt season 2 episode 2, Dr. Robby's young recruits think it's the best thing since sliced bread. However, I think we're on the cusp of a disaster that should be completely obvious.

The new AI system in The Pitt season 2 episode 2 is obviously going to crash... and burn

The Pitt Season 2 | Weeks Ahead Trailer | HBO Max - YouTube

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It's 2026, people. If you think anywhere is safe from a cyber attack – including a hospital – then I envy your naivety. Throw into the mix that it's the Fourth of July weekend, and it's almost a dead cert.

This is where the age old saying "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" comes into play... or in this case, "if it ain't broke, then at least phase in new technology slowly rather than all in one go." Obviously it was going to come to a point where Dr. Robby's ER needed to enter the digital world, and there are certainly huge issues when it comes to patient processing and treatment.

However, this definitely wasn't the best way to implement change, nor was it the best time to. Al-Hashimi's tenacity would be better placed helping the team get through the weekend rather than being so doggedly focused on making sure her previous research is well-received. A holiday weekend is the time to get your head down, not assert authority.

But instead, Al-Hashimi's changes have been rushed through, no training has been given and the team has to adopt an entirely new pattern of working while tending to the most patients they're ever likely to have for a single day. Brilliant decision-making, as you can see.

It goes without saying that this is all going to backfire, it's just a question of when. We're likely to get a few more episodes under our belt before anything happens, seeing how the staff take to the new system before things go horribly wrong.

I'd also like to see more of Al-Hashimi's vulnerable side before things go south. We've only just started to scratch the surface of her background, and I'm convinced she knows more about last week's abandoned baby than she's letting on. Add in the AI changes and she's about to have more on her plate than she bargained for.

If implemented properly, AI changes to cut down on hospital admin (as Al-Hashimi promises) would probably be a literal lifesaver. Instead, this might be a lost cause that only the likes of Sam Altman could bail The Pitt out of.

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