The Growing Use of AI Assistants
The use of AI assistants, such as ChatGPT, is becoming more popular. Hundreds of millions of people already use them and these AI assistants are revolutionizing the way the public accesses information.
Study on AI Assistant Responses
A team of scientists conducted a study to see if ChatGPT could provide accurate and helpful responses to common public health questions.
The questions belonged to categories such as addiction, interpersonal violence, mental health, and physical health.
Positive Results with Room for Improvement
ChatGPT provided evidence-based responses to 91% of all questions, which was quite impressive.
However, it referred users to specific resources for help in only 22% of the responses, despite available resources for all the questions asked.
The Potential of AI Assistants in Public Health
Many people turn to AI assistants because they have no one else to turn to, making these tools potentially lifesaving.
If AI companies could ensure that users connect with a human expert through an appropriate referral, it could greatly enhance their utility and positive impact on public health.
Promoting Useful Resources
Government-sponsored helplines play a critical role in the national strategy for improving public health.
These helplines are grossly under-promoted by technology and media companies, but AI assistants could change this trend by establishing partnerships with public health leaders.
AI and Public Health Agencies: A Potential Partnership
Public health agencies could share a database of recommended resources that AI companies could use to improve their responses to public health questions.
This is especially important because AI companies may lack the subject-matter expertise to make these recommendations.
Conclusion – The Future of AI in Public Health
While people will continue to turn to AI for health information, connecting people to trained professionals should be a crucial requirement of these AI systems.
If this requirement is met, AI systems like ChatGPT could significantly improve public health outcomes.
If you care about heart health, please read studies about best time to take vitamins to prevent heart disease, and tongues of people with heart failure look totally different.
For more information about heart health, please see recent studies that calcium supplements may harm your heart health, and results showing Flu and COVID-19 vaccines may increase heart disease risk.
The study was published in JAMA Network Open.
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