AI in Healthcare? Most Adults Say ‘No Thanks’

A new study reveals widespread skepticism about AI in healthcare, with concerns over safety and transparency driving low trust levels—especially among women and those who have experienced discrimination.

Research letter: Patients’ Trust in Health Systems to Use Artificial Intelligence. Image Credit: greenbutterfly / Shutterstock

A study found that 65.8% of the adults surveyed had low trust in their health care system to use artificial intelligence responsibly, and 57.7% had low trust in their health care systems to ensure an AI tool would not harm them.

The research letter was published in the journal JAMA Network Open.

Adults with higher levels of overall trust in their healthcare systems were likelier to believe their providers would protect them from AI-related harm. The study surveyed 2,039 U.S. adults from the National Opinion Research Center’s AmeriSpeak Panel, with a mean age of 48.4 years.

The letter, authored by Jodyn Platt, Ph.D., of the Department of Learning Health Sciences at the University of Michigan Medical School and Paige Nong, Ph.D., of the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, is based on a survey of a nationally representative sample of adults from the National Opinion Research Center's AmeriSpeak Panel conducted from June to July 2023.

Additional insights include that female respondents were less likely than male respondents to trust their healthcare systems to use AI responsibly, but there was no significant difference by gender in trust that AI tools would not cause harm.

Health literacy or AI knowledge were not associated with trust in AI, suggesting that trust-building efforts should focus on improving communication and enhancing organizational trustworthiness.

The study also found that individuals who had experienced discrimination while seeking healthcare were significantly less likely to trust their healthcare systems to use AI responsibly or ensure AI would not cause harm.

The authors note that future research should look at trust over time and with increased familiarity with AI.

Furthermore, health systems that adopt AI should increase or improve their communication about the tools used in patient care.