Why are patients turning to artificial intelligence chatbots for medical advice?
BALTIMORE -- The future of medicine may have arrived sooner than expected, with patients turning to artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots for medical advice.
People are increasingly comfortable seeking information and advice online. With this trend in mind, Johns Hopkins University conducted a recent study comparing medical answers from actual physicians to answers generated by the AI chatbot, Chat GPT.
Dr. Mark Dredze, an associate professor at Johns Hopkins University and one of the minds behind the study, said that the most striking part was the detail Chat GPT was able to put into its answers. He noted that the AI chatbot was not better than doctors but had the time to come up with answers, unlike human physicians who have to put in extra work to write out answers in detail.
The study showed that not only did Chat GPT perform well, but it was rated more favorably than the answers from doctors. Dr. Dredze said that the success of Chat GPT in the study was an indication that people are using the AI chatbot for health and medical questions.
"We wanted to test out how useful it would be within a medical setting," he said.
While the results of the study sound promising, not everyone sees it that way.
Matt Hollingsworth, the CEO and co-founder of Carta Healthcare, says that Chat GPT is great for summarizing complicated concepts and being creative, but has no measure of whether it's correct or not. That can be a big deal in a healthcare setting.
Hollingsworth cautions against using AI to diagnose yourself without talking to a doctor. However, he agrees with Dr. Dredze that AI can be used to help doctors do a better job.
"It'll give them more time, it'll let them spend more time with us, be better-written communicators which is awesome," he said. "There are a lot of upsides for it."
Chat GPT is not the only AI technology being used in the medical industry. AI chatbots and virtual assistants can help doctors with routine tasks such as scheduling appointments, ordering tests, and checking patients' medical history. AI can also help analyze patient data to detect patterns and provide personalized treatment plans.
As with any technology though, there are concerns about AI's accuracy and reliability. Hollingsworth emphasized that AI chatbots should not replace doctors, but rather help them.
"The model that we see here is not that we replace doctors with this technology, but that AI can be used to help doctors do a better job," he said.
Just because Chat GPT gave good answers does not mean it should be relied on for medical advice. It's always important to consult with a licensed medical professional for any health concerns.
However, the study's findings open up a new way for AI to be used in the medical field to assist physicians in their work. As AI technology continues to evolve and become more sophisticated, it has the potential to revolutionize the medical industry and improve patient care.
