Warsaw, Poland (Enmaeya News) — A recent study conducted across several medical centers in Poland found that doctors using artificial intelligence (AI) tools during colonoscopies experienced a drop in their ability to detect cancer, according to tech news site TechSpot.
The centers were participating in a pilot program exploring the potential of AI-assisted colonoscopy for cancer prevention. The findings prompted researchers to investigate whether AI use might affect the skills of experienced surgeons.
The study analyzed more than 1,442 colonoscopy procedures performed by highly experienced doctors, each of whom had conducted over 2,000 colonoscopies prior to the study. Researchers compared the success rate of detecting colon cancer over a three-month period before AI implementation and a three-month period after doctors began using AI technologies.
The study found that doctors’ success rates in detecting colon cancer dropped by six percent during the three-month period when they used AI tools compared with their performance before AI implementation.
Dr. Marcin Romansik, one of the study’s lead researchers, said this is the first study, to his knowledge, demonstrating a negative impact of AI use on doctors’ performance across medical procedures. He noted that the results raise concern given the rapid adoption of AI in healthcare.
Previous research supports the increasing prevalence of AI in medical practice. A 2023 survey by the American Medical Association found that two-thirds of participating doctors use AI and chatbot technologies daily in their work.
The new findings also align with research conducted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which examined the ability of participants to write research papers using AI versus without AI.
The study measured the rate of electrical signal transmission in the brains of AI users compared to non-users. It found weaker signal transmission in the brains of AI users, suggesting that reliance on AI tools may affect cognitive processing.
As hospitals and medical centers worldwide integrate AI technologies, the study underscores the importance of carefully evaluating their impact on clinical outcomes and physician performance.
