According to the nurses, Kaiser San Francisco is one of the earliest adopters of new AI, but they see the increase in automation for diagnostics, care delivery and administrative tasks as a nationwide problem, one where people are slowly being replaced by algorithms for the benefits of business interests as opposed to clinical staff and patients.

In their statement, the nurses said they think the erosion of clinical expertise is a threat to patient safety, eliminating many person-to-person interactions that are integral to the healthcare experience for everyone. They’re asking hospitals to slow pilot testing on new AI applications, especially those that eliminate hands-on care.

More protests are likely to happen in the future as the issues surrounding AI become more of a focus for nursing unions. For now, there does not seem to be any specific demands, and the demonstration was more for public awareness, calling on nurses from across California to participate.