Investigators found that the tools consistently expressed answers with confidence and certainty, offering few caveats or disclaimers. Out of the total 250 questions, the chatbot declined to answer only twice.
That’s one of the issues with AI: The tools usually deliver incorrect answers in an assertive tone, says Lee Schwamm, MD, associate dean of digital strategy and transformation at Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, who wasn’t involved in the research. “Chatbots are sometimes wrong, but never in doubt,” he adds.
What makes this especially troubling is that too few people consult with a healthcare professional after using AI for medical advice, says Dr. Schwarmm.
New Versions of AI Would Likely Have More Accurate Advice
One limitation of the study is that it tested a single round of prompts rather than the back-and-forth way many people actually interact with chatbots. That may lead to findings that don’t reflect real-world use, says Schwamm.
The study authors also note that AI technology is improving quickly, and some of the versions they tested were already older by the time their research was published. Tiller expects newer AI subscription versions to perform better than the free models he and his team studied, though he does not suggest that makes the tools reliable enough to use without caution.
Why More People Are Turning to Chatbots for Health Questions
Experts agree that there are likely many reasons that people might look to AI for advice about a health problem.
Speed and Convenience “People are increasingly turning to chatbots because they are convenient, fast, and accessible 24/7,” says Michelle Thompson, DO, a lifestyle medicine physician and director of the UPMC Lifestyle Medicine Program in Pittsburgh, who wasn’t involved in the new study.
Unlike traditional healthcare settings, which can involve long wait times or limited access, AI tools can provide immediate responses to health questions, she says.
Privacy Chatbots may also feel easier to approach than a healthcare professional, especially when someone wants to ask about a sensitive or embarrassing symptom without fear of judgment, says Dr. Thompson.
A More Personalized Experience Part of the appeal of AI tools is their ability to provide a seemingly customized and easily digestible way to explore complex topics compared with other digital sources of information. “A medical website usually explains a condition in general terms, while a chatbot can make it feel as though someone is responding directly to you,” Schwamm says.
Always On “You get to ask this question at 3 in the morning,” Schwamm says. In a healthcare system that can be hard to access quickly, that kind of around-the-clock availability can be especially appealing.
Distrust of the Medical Establishment Tiller points to a broader loss of trust in science, experts, and medical professionals which may make some people more willing to look elsewhere for answers.
Barriers to Healthcare The KFF poll suggests access and affordability matter, too. Younger adults and lower-income users were especially likely to say they turned to AI for health advice because of difficulties getting or paying for care.
Expert Recommendations on Using AI for Medical Advice
Experts say AI can be helpful for learning about health issues, but it works best as a support tool rather than a substitute for medical care.
Here are ways to utilize it wisely:
Use it to get oriented. AI can help explain disease processes or make lab results and medical language easier to understand, says Ayman Ali, MD, a fourth-year medical resident and AI researcher at Duke Health in Durham, North Carolina, who was not involved in the new study.
But that kind of help has limits, he adds, because AI does not do a good job of asking clarifying questions or building a differential diagnosis (using a systematic step-by-step process to identify the disease or condition causing a patient’s symptoms) before giving an answer, he says.
Check in with AI to prepare for a doctor’s visit. A chatbot might help someone think through what questions to ask or how to bring up a concern. “Used that way, it can support a better conversation with a clinician instead of trying to replace one,” says Schwamm.
Treat it as a starting point, not a final answer. AI can be helpful for education and general guidance but it cannot replace a doctor’s judgment, says Thompson. A chatbot can’t diagnose you or provide the ethical and contextual understanding a human brings to an individual case, she says.
Be most cautious when accuracy really matters. “I would not use an AI chatbot for any question where having a truthful or reliable answer is important,” says Tiller.
Don’t follow AI treatment advice without human vetting. All the experts agree: People should not act on treatment advice from a chatbot without checking with a qualified clinician first.
This includes medication changes. “If a chatbot tells you to start, stop, split, or otherwise change a prescription, that is not something you should do without consulting the clinician who prescribed it,” Schwamm says.
Read the full article here