Fifty-three percent of American adults feel as though they either have “not too much” or no control over the use of artificial intelligence in their healthcare, a new survey found.
Moreover, 63% of respondents polled by the Pew Research Center report that they would like more say over whether AI is used in their care. The nonprofit research firm surveyed 3,488 U.S. adults from its American Trends Panel (ATP) between June 22 and 28.
Researchers note that white adults (60%) are more likely than Hispanic (40%), Black (43%) and Asian adults (42%) to report they have little to no say.
Alongside wanting more input on AI usage in healthcare, nearly half of respondents (46%) report being unsure whether the technology was used at all.
There’s also a mixed understanding of AI’s role in care, researchers note, as 44% of respondents report understanding “somewhat well” how it has been used, while 32% report little to no understanding.
Amid AI’s rapid implementation in healthcare, 72% of respondents report it’s either extremely or very important to be informed by providers about the technology’s use.
Eight in 10 or more respondents report wanting to be told if AI is used for things that directly affect care or medical decisions. These areas include analyzing medical scans (81%), making diagnoses (81%), explaining lab results (80%), taking notes during appointments (72%), ordering prescription refills (64%) and scheduling appointments (56%).
The survey comes days after a piece published Aug. 17 in the medical journal JAMA suggested autonomous AI systems could eventually outperform physicians and physician-AI teams on cognitive tasks. The piece prompted debate among leading medical groups, including the American Medical Association (AMA).
The AMA and the Digital Medical Society published a framework about the role of physicians in the age of AI on Aug. 18.