Most Older Americans Don't Trust AI-Generated Health Info, Survey Finds

October 16, 2024
Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter

Most Americans 50 and older don’t place much trust in health advice generated by artificial intelligence, a new survey finds.

About 74% of middle-aged and senior Americans would have very little to no trust in health info generated by AI, the University of Michigan poll found.

At the same time, these older adults have a lot of confidence in their ability to suss out bad info about health matters.

Only 20% said they had little to no confidence they could spot misinformation about a health topic if they came across it.

Among all older adults who’d scanned the web recently for health info, only 32% said it’s very easy to find accurate advice.

“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,” said poll director Dr. Jeffrey Kullgren, an associate professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan.

“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 in a university news release.

Most of those polled, 84%, said they’d gotten health info directly from a health care provider, pharmacist, friend or family member in the past year.

More than 70% rated their health professionals as very trustworthy, while just 62% said the same about friends and family members.

About 58% said they’d used a website for health information -- most (39%) turning to .com sites like WebMD or Healthline or a health system’s website (31%).

About 36% of those who used a .com site felt its information was trustworthy, compared with 59% of those who used a health care system site.

Far fewer visited health sites run by the federal government (21%), nonprofits like the American Heart Association (14%) or universities or medical schools (11%). However, about 60% of those who went to those sites felt their info was very trustworthy.

“Older adults are increasingly turning to the internet for health information, yet there is a significant trust gap, particularly with AI-generated content,” said Indira Venkat, AARP’s senior vice president of research.

“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.”

The report is based on findings from a poll conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago. It involved 3,379 adults aged 50 and older surveyed online and via phone in February and March.

More information

The National Institutes of Health has more on where to find health information.

SOURCE: University of Michigan, news release, Oct. 16, 2024

Aging: Misc.