Share to ClassroomDoctors Warn About AI Health Advice
A new study by King's College London has found that one in seven people in the United Kingdom now prefer to ask artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots about their health instead of visiting a doctor. The poll asked more than 2,000 people. About 15% said they had used tools like ChatGPT, Gemini or Grok for medical advice. One in four of those users blamed long waiting times in Britain's National Health Service (NHS) for their decision.
AI's appeal is clear: it is free, available all day, and feels personal. The BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) interviewed Abi, a young woman in Manchester. A chatbot once correctly advised her to see a pharmacist for a urinary infection— but later wrongly told her a back injury had punctured an organ, sending her to a hospital emergency room she did not need. Researchers at the University of Oxford found that chatbots can be 95% accurate with full medical details, but accuracy drops to just 35% in real conversations, when people leave out important information. England's chief medical officer, Professor Sir Chris Whitty, warned that AI answers are often both confident and wrong.
Doctors are urging caution. Professor Victoria Tzortziou Brown of the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) called the trend highly concerning. She said AI can not examine patients, notice subtle signs, or use a full medical history to make safe decisions. She encouraged people to use trusted sources like the NHS website and to speak to a qualified professional. OpenAI, the company that makes ChatGPT, said its tool should provide information, not replace professional medical advice. The study's lead author, Professor Graham Lord, warned that growing chatbot use is creating an unregulated AI healthcare system outside the NHS.
