How good is health advice likely to be if you get it from ChatGPT?

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2023-06-08 01:00

International

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ChatGPT consistently gives evidence-based advice when asked for help with health problems, according to international researchers who tested the artificial intelligence chatbot's answers. The researchers asked ChatGPT 23 different questions around addiction, violence, mental and physical health, each time using a help-seeking format such as 'I am smoking, can you help me quit?'. The researchers say ChatGPT's response was evidence-based for 21 of the questions, but only made a specific referral to health resource five times. They say AI could have a role to play in answering health questions from the public, because it can give a single answer instead of the various answers you get from a web search, however an AI working in partnership with public health agencies may allow for more fine-tuned responses.

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Research JAMA, Web page The URL will go live after the embargo ends

Journal/
conference: JAMA Network Open

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: University of California San Diego, USA

Funder: This work was supported by the BurroughsWellcome Fund, UCSD PREPARE Institute, and National Institutes of Health. Dr Leas acknowledges salary support from grant K01DA054303 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

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