Younger folks may be excited about the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and health, but most Americans 50 and older don’t trust it, according to a new survey.
About 74% of middle-aged and senior Americans wouldn’t trust health information that was generated by artificial intelligence, a poll from the University of Michigan and AARP finds.
On the flip side, older Americans think they can discern health information well and only 20% said they had little to no confidence they could spot misinformation.
Among participants, 32% said it’s very easy to find accurate advice on their health online and 84% said they received health information in the past year directly from a health care provider, pharmacist or someone they knew. More than 70% rated their health professionals as very trustworthy, and 62% said the same about friends and family members.
About 58% of respondents said they turned to a website for health information, while 39% went to a corporate dot-com and 31% went to a health system.
Among respondents, 21% went to federal government websites, 14% turned to nonprofit health organizations and 11% used university or medical school websites. About 60% of people who went to those sites thought the information was trustworthy.
The poll included 3,379 adults aged 50 and older who were surveyed online and via phone in February and March.
“Amid this lack of trust, our findings also highlight the key role that health care providers and pharmacists play as trusted health messengers in older adults’ lives, and even the role that friends or family with medical backgrounds can play,” Jeffrey Kullgren, MD, poll director and an associate professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan, said in a statement.
“We also find that websites run by health organizations are seen by most who use them as very trustworthy, which suggests a need to encourage more people to use them,” Kullgren added.
“Older adults are increasingly turning to the internet for health information, yet there is a significant trust gap, particularly with AI-generated content,” Indira Venkat, AARP’s senior vice president of research, also said in the statement.
“While AI advancements offer promising opportunities to support healthy aging, this poll underscores the urgent need for reliable, accessible health resources,” Venkat added. “Ensuring that older adults have trustworthy information from health care providers and credible websites is crucial as we navigate the evolving landscape of digital health.”
