"You Are Not Alone": The Allure and Limitations of Artificial Intelligence in Serious Illness Communication

Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the way clinicians practice medicine, and recent technological advancements have resulted in consumer-facing products that can respond to users with dynamic and nuanced language. Clinicians typically struggle with serious illness communication, such as delivering news about a poor prognosis. Palliative care clinicians receive extensive training in serious illness communication, but there is a paucity of such highly trained specialists. This article explores the allure of employing AI-powered chatbots to assist nonspecialist clinicians with serious illness communication and highlights the ethical and practical drawbacks. While outsourcing communication to new AI chatbot technologies may be inappropriate, there is a role for AI in training clinicians on effective language to use when discussing serious illness with their patients.