The majority of the German population supports the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in medicine. More than 50% of citizens would trust AI-supported diagnoses in the same way or even more than purely medical diagnoses.
67% of the German population support the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in medicine, for example in the field of diagnostics. This was the result of a representative survey conducted by the opinion research institute Civey on behalf of the Germany-based “Year of Science 2019 - Artificial Intelligence” initiative (in German: Wissenschaftsjahr 2019 - Künstliche Intelligenz). "Citizens see the opportunities of AI in medicine. This encourages us to specifically promote AI in the health sector and thus further advance its development," said the German Federal Minister for Research Anja Karliczek.
Despite the strong support for CI in medicine, German citizens see the question of trust in CI-supported diagnoses as differentiated. Around 23% said they would trust a medical diagnosis "more" or "rather more" if it relied on the support of an AI. 35% believe that this would not affect their confidence.
In the provision of anonymized health data, which is necessary for effective AI use in medicine, the Germans, on the other hand, are divided: A majority of 57%, for example, are fundamentally in favor of providing health data anonymously if these improve AI diagnoses. However, over 30% deny this willingness.
"AI-assisted diagnostics open up new possibilities. However, they require confidence in the technology. We must strengthen that. Education about intelligent medical systems and the public discussion about them are important steps in this direction," concludes Karliczek.