Michael Vassar, 34, is one of the world's leading theorists on existential risk-as in cataclysmic events that would pretty much wipe out the human race. He's also spent much of his career thinking about developing artificial-intelligence software intended to yield supersmart machines dedicated to helping people, rather than a legion of HALs or Terminators. Last year he co-founded MetaMed, a startup that seeks to use data analysis techniques to better diagnose patients facing grave illnesses. At its core, MetaMed tries to offer a second opinion that's more nuanced and more thoroughly researched than those of most general practitioners. When a patient contacts the company and provides information about his or her illness, staffers enter the data into an analysis and collaboration system that enlists a team of consultants from a growing 40-person network.
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