What is the impact of artificial intelligence-based chatbots on infodemic management?

Plinio P Morita; Matheus Lotto; Jasleen Kaur; Dmytro Chumachenko; Arlene Oetomo; Kristopher Dylan Espiritu; Irfhana Zakir Hussain

doi:10.3389/fpubh.2024.1310437

What is the impact of artificial intelligence-based chatbots on infodemic management?

Front Public Health. 2024 Feb 13:12:1310437. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1310437. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Plinio P Morita^{1

2

3

4

5}, Matheus Lotto^{1

6}, Jasleen Kaur¹, Dmytro Chumachenko^{1

7}, Arlene Oetomo¹, Kristopher Dylan Espiritu¹, Irfhana Zakir Hussain¹

Affiliations

¹ School of Public Health Sciences, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada.
² Department of Systems Design Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada.
³ Research Institute for Aging, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada.
⁴ Centre for Digital Therapeutics, Techna Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada.
⁵ Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
⁶ Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Orthodontics, and Public Health, Bauru School of Dentistry, University of São Paulo, Bauru, Brazil.
⁷ Department of Mathematical Modelling and Artificial Intelligence, National Aerospace University "Kharkiv Aviation Institute", Kharkiv, Ukraine.

Abstract

Artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots have the potential to revolutionize online health information-seeking behavior by delivering up-to-date information on a wide range of health topics. They generate personalized responses to user queries through their ability to process extensive amounts of text, analyze trends, and generate natural language responses. Chatbots can manage infodemic by debunking online health misinformation on a large scale. Nevertheless, system accuracy remains technically challenging. Chatbots require training on diverse and representative datasets, security to protect against malicious actors, and updates to keep up-to-date on scientific progress. Therefore, although AI chatbots hold significant potential in assisting infodemic management, it is essential to approach their outputs with caution due to their current limitations.

Keywords: artificial intelligence; eHealth; health information management; infodemic; misinformation.

MeSH terms

Artificial Intelligence*
Health Behavior
Infodemic*
Information Seeking Behavior
Language

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was supported by the São Paulo Research Foundation (grant #2021/10732-5).