How to answer “Should patients be told when AI is used?” in a medical school interview
- Topic
- Technology and AI
- Kind
- Policy and health systems
Prompt
Should patients always be told when an AI tool helped shape a decision about their care, even if knowing makes some of them trust the decision less?
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How to approach this question
What this question tests
- Ethical reasoning
- Communication
- Health systems and advocacy
How to approach it
This panel interview question tests whether you value patient autonomy and transparency about AI in health care even when honesty makes care harder to deliver. Name the interests: patients' right to understand how decisions about them are made, physicians' responsibility for those decisions, and the trust that keeps patients engaged in their own care. Ask what kind of role the AI tool played, since one that drafts paperwork differs from one that shapes a recommendation. Consider whether trust lost through disclosure is a reason to hide the tool or a reason to explain it better. Address who stays accountable when an AI tool is involved. Then give a clear position with any exceptions you'd allow, and say how you'd explain the tool's role to a worried patient in plain language.
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