AI health advice may miss key gynaecological cancer symptoms, warns The Eve Appeal
As part of its annual Get Lippy campaign this May, the charity tested 25 scenarios in which AI chatbot ChatGPT was asked about common gynaecological symptoms. The results raised serious concerns, according to the charity, with ovarian cancer not identified as a potential cause of persistent bloating — one of the disease’s leading symptoms. Vulval cancer was also missed as a possible cause of persistent vulval itching.
The charity says it is increasingly concerned as more people turn to AI platforms such as ChatGPT for health information and advice instead of medical professionals.
Their survey of more than 2,000 UK women found that:
- 9% of those who had experienced gynaecological health issues had used AI platforms like ChatGPT for advice.
- Of those women, only 28% said the information encouraged them to see a doctor, while most trusted the information they received, with just 16% expressing doubts.
- Fewer than a quarter (23%) checked the sources provided to verify whether the information was accurate or reliable.
The charity is now encouraging people to “chat to their GP instead of ChatGPT” about gynaecological symptoms and is sharing a new online toolkit to help people identify trusted health information sources. The toolkit was developed using resources from the Patient Information Forum.
More information about the campaign and the charity’s online information toolkit can be found on The Eve Appeal website.
