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While ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence chatbot, has been making the news lately, researchers are working on numerous uses for artificial intelligence, including helping doctors diagnose patients. AI is already used by some medical facilities to monitor patients' vital signs and to help read x-rays to look for signs of cancer.
In one study, researchers found that ChatGPT was able to pass the U.S. Medical Licensing Examination.
The idea that artificial intelligence could be used to help doctors or even replace them one day leaves a vast majority of Americans uncomfortable.
In a recent poll conducted by Pew Research, 60% of adults said they would not be comfortable with their doctor using AI, while just 39% said that would not bother them.
Only 38% of the respondents believed that using AI would lead to better health outcomes. One-third of the respondents said it would actually lead to worse results, while 27% believe that AI won't make a difference.
When asked about specific uses for AI in healthcare, the only instance in which people supported the use of AI was to help diagnose skin cancer, with 65% saying they would want AI used to assist with a diagnosis.
When it comes to using AI to prescribe pain medication, 67% opposed the idea. Americans are also uncomfortable with AI being used to assist in surgery, with 59% saying they oppose the practice.
When asked about using an AI chatbot to help with mental health, nearly 80% said they were against the idea.
"Awareness of AI is still developing. So one dynamic here is the public isn't deeply familiar with all of these technologies. And so when you consider their use in a context that's very personal, something that's kind of high-stakes as your own health, I think that the notion that folks are still getting to know this technology is certainly one dynamic at play," Alec Tyson, Pew's associate director of research, told CNN.