NEWSROOM

The potential benefits offered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) are numerous. AI can automate boring tasks, process massive amounts of data quickly, speed up problem-solving, and improve daily work across many fields. However, AI comes with disadvantages, too. Among them is misinformation.

Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok are among the world’s largest social media platforms. Facebook has 3.1 billion monthly users, globally. Instagram has approximately 3 billion monthly active users. TikTok has 1.9-2.2 billion active monthly users worldwide. In the U.S., the three platforms have 530 million monthly users.

Increasingly, many users of social media are seeking information on health-related matters. Regrettably, the information they are getting is not always accurate. In fact some would say it poses a danger to public safety.

Dr. Emma Runswick, the British Medical Association council deputy chair, noted recently that the risks posed by AI on social media “peddle medical myths and promote so-called miracle cures.” She says that if these platforms don’t do anything to stop the increase in dangerous and fake medical advice, “it is the public who could be paying the price with their health and even their lives.”

According to the British newspaper, The Guardian, AI-generated physicians are increasingly spreading myths about cancer and other health conditions. Claims espoused by these “AI doctors” have been repeatedly refuted by Cancer Research UK and others.

Research by B2B digital marketing firm Hallam found that 40 percent of the top TikTok videos related to health incorporated AI-generated content connected to deepfake social media influencers.

TikTok says it is working to remove harmful health misinformation. The platform notes its partnership with the World Health Organization and United Kingdom’s National Health System (NHS) to provide reliable health information via its app. It also says it is continuing to invest in AI literacy resources.

Consumers are cautioned to discuss information they see or read online with their health care providers. That may help them better distinguish truth from misinformation – and wasting time and money on fake remedies or advice.