Seeking medical advice from AI? It will probably make you more sick

Don’t have a doctor? Don’t do this.

Nearly half of Canadians are turning to AI to diagnose or treat their health issues, according to a new survey — and the answers being spit out are putting a lot of people in danger.

Released by the Canadian Medical Association (CMA), the survey found that people who follow health advice from AI are five times more likely to experience harms than those who do not.

“For years, we’ve been talking about how too many Canadians struggle to access health care when they need it,” says Dr. Margot Burnell, president of the CMA. “This leaves people little choice but to turn to dubious sources of information, and now we know that it is hurting them. We fear what this will mean for patients in the future if action is not taken now.”

Dr. Burnell is our guest on tonight’s episode of Village Media’s Closer Look podcast.

Hosted by Village Media’s Michael Friscolanti and Scott Sexsmith, and produced by Derek Turner, Closer Look is a new daily podcast that goes way beyond the headlines with insightful, in-depth conversations featuring our reporters and editors, leading experts, key stakeholders and big newsmakers.

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