Artificial Intelligence Is Trusted Less than a Doctor in Medical Treatment Decisions: Influence of Perceived Care and Value Similarity

ABSTRACT

Artificial intelligence (AI) can provide many benefits in healthcare, including rapid and effective treatment options. However, previous research on human–computer interactions has demonstrated that people are reluctant to accept AI. This study compared individuals’ trust in AI with their trust in doctors regarding medical treatment and explored whether people trust an AI system that understands and suggests their desired treatments. We conducted an online experiment (N = 415) adopting a scenario method. The participants were asked to imagine receiving a medical examination and being prescribed medicine by a physician or an AI system. Participants trusted the AI system less than a doctor, even when the AI system learned and suggested their desired treatment. This finding confirms that people are reluctant to trust AI even if it performs at the level of a human doctor, thereby strengthening the existent literature that shows people prefer human doctors.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Editage (www.editage.com) for English language editing.

Disclosure of potential conflict of interest

There are no conflicts of interest to declare.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by Grant Number 17KT0157 and 20K11081 from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) and by Grant Number JPMJCE1302 from the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), COI.

Notes on contributors

Ryosuke Yokoi

Ryosuke Yokoi is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Psychology, Doshisha University. His primary research interests include trust in artificial intelligence and human-computer interaction.

Yoko Eguchi

Yoko Eguchi received her Ph.D. from Keio University School of Medicine. Her specialty is clinical neuropsychology, and her primary research interest is the decision-making ability of cognitively impaired patients and elderly patients regarding their health care.

Takanori Fujita

Takanori Fujita is a Project Lead of Healthcare Data Project at the World Economic Forum Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution Japan and Project Lecturer at the Keio University School of Medicine. His research focuses on health law and policy, and the application of artificial intelligence to medical practice.

Kazuya Nakayachi

Kazuya Nakayachi is a professor in the Faculty of Psychology, Doshisha University. His research interests include trust in risk managers, risk perception, and disaster preparedness.