Why brain scans and AI could fail people trying to prove chronic pain

Article excerpt

A 2006 workplace injury case hinged on brain-scan evidence: after Carl Koch suffered burn injuries, his employer accused him of faking pain. A neuroscientist testified that a brain scan proved Koch's suffering, and the judge admitted this as expert evidence. The case settled for more than ten times the employer's initial offer, a victory that seemed to validate using brain imaging to objectively measure pain. But the headline signals a troubling reversal: emerging research suggests brain scans and AI may actually fail chronic pain patients in court, potentially undermining the very tool that once won Koch his settlement.