One in three young adults use AI chatbots for drug and alcohol information, study finds
A study reveals that one in three young adults in the US uses AI chatbots like ChatGPT to research drug and alcohol information. Researchers warn that this trend poses public health risks due to the potential for misinformation.
Why it matters
As AI becomes a primary source of health information, the lack of medical verification in chatbots creates significant risks for vulnerable populations.
One in three young adults has used generative artificial intelligence to seek information about drugs and alcohol, raising questions about the public health risks of chatbots becoming an increasingly common source of health advice.A study published in JMIR Formative Research found that 32% of 995 US adults aged 18 to 29 had used tools such as ChatGPT, Google Gemini and Meta AI for substance-related information.Among those who had done so, nearly half reported using AI for that purpose at least monthly, including 12% who used it weekly and 4% who did so daily or almost daily.“Using these tools can lead to misinformed or otherwise risky substance-use behaviour among young people, who are the age group most affected by adverse effects of substance use,” Mireia Triguero Roura, a postdoctoral researcher at Rutgers University and lead author of the study, said in a press release.Of those who used AI for substance-related queries,…
Also covering this story
One other newsroom covered this event. We read that version too.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in