Pacific Coast Society of Orthodontists Bulletin Spring 2023 - 6

PCSO News and Events
President's Report
President's Message
" Dear members of the Pacific Coast Society of Orthodontists,
Dr.
John Wachtel
Scottsdale, AZ
PCSO President 2022-2023
I hope this message finds you well as we embark on a
new year of innovative advancements and industry developments.
Staying connected and informed about the
latest trends and best practices in orthodontics is more
critical than ever. Our team at the PCSO is committed
to providing you with valuable resources and updates
to help you stay on top of your game and continue to
deliver exceptional care to your patients. In this edition
of our newsletter, we have exciting news and insights to
share with you. "
I begin this message by demonstrating the power of
artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, now
available at a consumer level. I generated the above
unedited paragraph with a simple prompt, " Can you
provide an opening paragraph for a newsletter to
an orthodontic trade organization, the Pacific Coast
Society of Orthodontists? " using the natural language
processing system from the research lab OpenAI, called
ChatGPT. It took longer for me to conceptualize and
type my question than for ChatGPT to respond!
After you spend time using this new technology,
asking questions, and drilling down with follow-up
discussions, it is apparent that this new technology is
very different. Agriculture, the printing press, electricity,
the transistor, and the internet are all inventions to
improve the human condition. These innovations have
specific uses and are intended to carry out predefined
tasks. In contrast, AI systems such as ChatGPT are
designed to mimic human cognitive functions such as
learning, reasoning, problem solving, perception, and
decision making while processing vast amounts of
data quickly and efficiently. With time and training, intelligent
systems such as ChatGPT will solve ever-complex
problems by building on solutions to similar yet
smaller tasks. In a sense, we have invented a tool that
has learned to learn. We have invented an inventor.
This technology will be, without question, immeasurably
transformative to society and our profession.
How does this future compare to today? The PCSO
leadership, for example, is currently working through
revisions to our guiding road map called the PCSO
Strategic Plan. The process was time-consuming and
expensive. To complete this project, we relied on
traditional methods of gathering data and analysis
to discover trends. This work included defining focus
6
groups, formulating polling questions on value and
relevance, and using statistical analysis to assess
our members' responses. Once this Member Needs
Assessment was developed, our PCSO Board of
Directors, state and provincial leaders, and strategic
planning consultants spent several days realigning
our PCSO Strategic Plan to fine-tune our programming
and services. I am grateful that our constituency
is so rich in talent and ideas. There were many hands,
hearts, and minds involved in this process. As you
can imagine, this task is second only to our WOCON
Annual Session planning regarding volunteer hours.
Out of curiosity, I wanted to compare our newly minted
PCSO Strategic Plan side-by-side with an AI-generated
proposal. With very little background detail, I prompted
ChatGPT to develop a strategic plan for a dental society.
I was surprised that the response identified many of our
challenges and drew similar conclusions for a course of
action. A criticism of this technology is that the pathways
used to formulate a reply are unknown. I did find
many factual errors in the response. Nonetheless, I was
amazed that the AI system could develop a relatively
cogent plan. Without question, portions of the next
revision to our strategic plan will be performed using
AI tools to assist our future leaders. In the near future,
this process can be performed in real time, suggesting
creative and innovative course corrections at a much
lower cost.
Are you reminded of Disney's Tomorrowland when
pondering the topic of AI? If so, you may be interested
to know that the PCSO Annual Session, 2023
WOCON, will be held this year at the Disneyland Hotel
in Anaheim, California. Although I cannot confirm
that our cast members " whistled while they worked, " I
am confident they " imagineered " a program that will
appeal to every member of your orthodontic office.
Our roster of speakers and events promises to inform,
entertain, and allow you to reconnect with colleagues
and friends. Mark your calendar for November 2 to 5.
You will not want to miss this event!
Enjoy the start of summer, full of safe travels and happy
memories with family and friends. The year 2023
promises to bring many new advances to the Pacific
Coast Society of Orthodontists and our specialty. Stay
tuned as we begin to deliver many new programs
and services, utilizing a combination of traditional,
proven approaches alongside cutting-edge AI-assisted
insights.
PCSO Bulletin Spring 2023
Pacific Coast Society of Orthodontists Bulletin Spring 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pacific Coast Society of Orthodontists Bulletin Spring 2023
