Doctors get dopey if they rely too much on AI, study suggests

When doctors use AI image recognition technology to spot and remove precancerous growths known as adenomas during colonoscopies, the detection rate is higher. But take the AI away, and their rate drops to below where it was in the first place.

One recent study shows that using this AI tool results in a 12.5 percent increase in the adenoma detection rates (ADR). That is expected to save lives.

But when doctors lose access to AI assistance, their ability to spot adenomas tends to drop below what it was before they started relying on AI, according to a study published in The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology.

"Continuous exposure to AI might reduce the ADR of standard non-AI assisted colonoscopy, suggesting a negative effect on endoscopist behaviour," the study concludes.

The analysis, based on data from four endoscopy centers in Poland between September 2021 and March 2022, compares the change in ...