The Perilous Path of Self-Diagnosis: why AI Can’t Replace a Doctor
By Dr. Michael Lee, World-Today-News.com
(World-Today-News.com) – In an age of readily available data, the temptation to self-diagnose using Artificial Intelligence tools like ChatGPT is growing. But as recent cases demonstrate, relying on AI for medical advice can have serious, even life-threatening, consequences.
A recent case at the Vietnam-Belgium Andrology and Infertility Hospital illustrates the danger. A patient wiht erectile dysfunction,seeking to avoid ongoing medical care,discontinued prescribed treatment and self-managed his condition. Upon returning to the hospital, his condition had substantially worsened, requiring extensive and costly long-term intervention. “The use of the right dosage, under the close surveillance of a doctor, guarantees the safety and efficiency of the treatment,” explains Dr. Ha Ngoc Manh, deputy director of the hospital.
This isn’t an isolated incident. A 28-year-old computer scientist experiencing stomach pain turned to ChatGPT for answers. The AI suggested stress and fast food as potential causes, leading the man to self-treat with digestive enzymes. Weeks later, he was hospitalized with a severe, bleeding gastric ulcer – a condition that coudl have been far simpler to treat with earlier medical intervention.ChatGPT, with its remarkable linguistic capabilities, can offer a wealth of information. However, experts are sounding the alarm about the growing tendency to equate its output with a professional medical opinion.
“ChatGPT should only be considered as an initial source of information and cannot replace a
