Patients expressing their concerns about AI in health

Would you have concerns if AI was used for your diagnosis and treatment?

ROLIEN: No, not at all. It makes me feel more secure.

ESTHER: Yeah, I would have some concerns. There is something called bias. And when you are part of an underrepresented group, that means that maybe the AI system is not trained to suit you as well as it could be.

TINEKE: I think I will miss the adaptation to the person, what the person wants by herself or himself.

TOM: Yeah, I have a lot of concerns. How am I sure that the treatment they’re prescribing is correct? What if I get the wrong medication and I get complications again? I don’t want that.

FRANK: I don’t have any concern if AI would be used for diagnosis at all.

KLAAS: Oh, yes, I would have a lot of concerns. There have been– when you use this artificial intelligence, then you don’t know– you can’t talk to the person who tells you and you can’t check it. So you really don’t know if it’s doing it quite well. What if it had the wrong information in it? So I don’t believe that, no.

PISANA: Yes, I would. I would, especially if it was used on its own without human input. Because I think diagnosis and treatment choices imply much more than just data crunching. Doctors have the patient history and their own experience to draw upon, they can consult with other doctors, they can research other similar cases, and they can put all this together to make their decisions. So they can have a bigger picture, which a machine can’t have. And I also see an issue with accountability. If there’s a wrong diagnosis, who’s going to take the responsibility for that?