TEK IMAGE/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Science Photo Library via Getty Images
ZDNET's key takeaways
People can't tell AI-generated from doctor responses.
However, people trust AI responses more than those from doctors.
Integrating AI into clinical practice must be a nuanced approach.
Get more in-depth ZDNET tech coverage: Add us as a preferred Google source on Chrome and Chromium browsers.
There's a crisis due to a lack of doctors in the US. In the October issue of the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine, Harvard Medical School professor Isaac Kohane described how many large hospitals in Massachusetts, the state with the most doctors per capita, are refusing to admit new patients.
The situation is only going to get worse, statistics suggest, wrote Kohane. As a result: "Whether out of desperation, frustration, or curiosity, large numbers of patients are already using AI to obtain medical advice, including second opinions -- sometimes with dramatic therapeutic consequences."
Also: Can AI outdiagnose doctors? Microsoft's tool is 4 times better for complex cases
The medical community is both interested in and somewhat concerned about the growing tendency for people to seek medical advice from ChatGPT and other generative AI systems.
... continue reading