Scaling the Idea of Opinion Leadership to Address Health Misinformation: The Case for “Health Communication AI”

Figures & data

Table 1. Strengths and Weaknesses of Traditional Opinion Leadership Compared with Health Communication AI

	Traditional Opinion Leadership	Health Communication AI
Strengths	Known or familiar to the community Considered trustworthy and knowledgeable by community 1:1 interactions are possible Capable of empathetic communication	Deep knowledge of health topics Universally empathetic 1:1 interactions are standard Ubiquitous Scalable Always available Controlled responses which can lead to better communication
Weaknesses	Not always available Not scalable Not always truly knowledgeable on topic or may lack depth of understanding Not always capable of keeping emotions under control which can lead to negative interactions	Works only in digital environments In development - effectiveness is under study