AI doctor bots 'could still miss serious illness'

A MAJOR study into using artificial intelligence “chatbots” to give patients medical advice found the technology can fail to spot serious illnesses or make the right decisions.

- By Lucy Johnston SOCIAL AFFAIRS EDITOR

It comes as the Government last week announced greater use of AI in healthcare as part of its 10-year plan for the NHS.

In a world-first trial, 1,298 people were asked to tackle 10 common health scenarios — such as chest pain or abdominal problems — using either a leading AI chatbot or traditional sources such as Google or the NHS website.

The bots when tested alone performed impressively, correctly identifying 95% of conditions.