Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jun 13
Doctor Warns ChatGPT Solves Only Half of Diagnostic Cases as Patients Seek Faster Care
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jun 13

Doctor Warns ChatGPT Solves Only Half of Diagnostic Cases as Patients Seek Faster Care

1 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jun 13

Summary

  • Vijay Rajput argued patients are using ChatGPT for medical advice because health care often fails to provide enough time, responsiveness and a sense of being heard.
  • About half of complex diagnostic challenges were answered correctly in recent research he cited, with the model struggling to interpret lab and imaging data despite producing fluent, understandable responses.
  • Rajput said that fluency can create a false sense of accuracy, making ChatGPT emotionally useful for reassurance and guidance but unreliable as a substitute for diagnosis or individualized care.
  • He urged physicians to steer patients toward using A.I. to prepare questions, clarify instructions and organize information, framing it as a tool to support care rather than replace clinical judgment.

Insights

As AI fills healthcare’s empathy gap, is the real challenge fixing technology or re-humanizing medicine?
When a medical chatbot gives harmful advice, who is legally responsible: the user, the doctor, or the developer?