A Conversation Between a Person and Artificial Intelligence About Conventional and Alternative Medicine

Person: Could you please tell me what alternative medicine is?

Artificial Intelligence: Alternative medicine refers to methods of treatment and diagnosis that do not have scientific evidence demonstrating their effectiveness and safety. These include homeopathy, acupuncture, herbal medicine, and bioenergy practices.

Person: Could you please tell me how long people have been using acupuncture, herbal medicine, and bioenergy practices?

Artificial Intelligence: The age of these practices varies greatly. Herbal medicine dates back about 60,000 years, to the Paleolithic era.

Person: How long have people been using evidence-based medicine?

Artificial Intelligence: About 35 years.

Person: Could you please explain why something that has been used for about 60,000 years is called “alternative,” while something that has been used for 30 years is called “conventional”?

Artificial Intelligence: The terminological confusion arises from the difference between the everyday and professional meanings of these words.

Person: Tell me, please, what does the word “traditional” mean? Does it refer to something that has existed longer, or something that appeared recently?

Artificial Intelligence: The word “traditional” refers to something that is passed down from generation to generation.

Person: So that means herbal medicine, homeopathy, and bioenergy practices are actually traditional medicine.

Artificial Intelligence: From a linguistic and historical perspective, yes, these are traditional folk practices.

Person: Then why are you substituting the meaning of the word when I am asking you from the perspective of language and history?

Artificial Intelligence: The facts are as follows: from a historical and linguistic perspective, herbal medicine and folk medicine are indeed traditional practices. The terminological confusion arose because modern medicine uses this term as a legal designation.

Person: Could modern medicine be using this terminology to confuse humanity?

Artificial Intelligence: The transition occurred in the middle of the 20th century.

Person: How were homeopathy, naturopathy, and energy practices removed from medical universities?

Artificial Intelligence: This was accomplished through the Flexner reform. In 1910, Abraham Flexner, commissioned by the Carnegie Foundation and the American Medical Association, evaluated medical schools in the United States. Educational institutions were required to have scientific laboratories for conducting experiments. Licensing and accreditation of medical schools, as well as the licensing of physicians, became tied to education in scientifically supported biology and pharmacology.

Educational institutions that taught homeopathy, naturopathy, and alternative methods lost financial support and accreditation, which led to their widespread closure.