Philadelphia, May 23, 2023 – Since the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, the use of large language models (LLMs) powered by artificial intelligence (AI) has taken the world by storm. Now, researchers have investigated the potential of using these types of AI tools in the field of clinical radiology. What are the potential benefits and drawbacks? What are the ethical implications? A discussion paper in the Journal of the American College of Radiology (JACR), published by Elsevier, puts ChatGPT to the test and opens the discussion on the various aspects of its use.

"The potential use of AI-powered chatbots like ChatGPT is a promising and disruptive area of research that has the potential to revolutionize the practice of radiology," explained lead author Ramin Javan, MD, Department of Radiology, Director of Advanced Brain Imaging and 3D Innovations Lab, George Washington University Hospital, Washington, DC, USA.

The goal of this investigation was to present the idea that chatbots can serve as assistive tools at the intersection of medicine and technology to free professionals in the field from some mundane and repetitive tasks, allowing them to focus more on high-level and specialized endeavors, maximizing their potential as specialists, allowing individual talents to thrive, and benefiting patients.
"Once we tried different prompts and were able to fine tune the results to obtain the final response we were looking for, we were convinced that we are truly looking at a defining moment in the evolution of human-machine synergy," Dr. Javan continued. "We decided to dive deeper and open a conversation around the potential benefits that chatbots could bring to patients, radiologists, and the entire medical community. At the same time, we felt it was important to address the challenges and ethical considerations that come with using these advanced technologies in a sensitive and critical field like healthcare. Our goal was to initiate an engaging and unbiased discussion, while showcasing the capabilities of ChatGPT itself."

Coauthor Ahmed Ismail, BA, George Washington University School of Medicine, added, "With imagination being the primary constraint, we illustrate how AI-powered chatbots, like ChatGPT, can support the shift of clinical radiology to a patient-centered model without placing a greater strain on radiologists or medical infrastructure. We further discuss how this technology could be a valuable tool for radiology education."

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