Credibility of AI generated and human video doctors and the relationship to social media use

It's unclear if the age stereotype of young doctors also applies to artificial intelligence (AI) doctors. Although research shows social media can reduce discrimination, age stereotypes are still underexplored. This study is aimed to determine the relationship between social media use and age stereotypes among doctors in online health videos narrated by AI/human doctors.

This is a cross-sectional study, divided into two phases and conducted from May 25 to June 19, 2024. Self-reported questionnaire was developed and collected by face-to-face interview. All individuals who are 18 years old or above with adequate reading comprehension skills are eligible. The credibility of doctors among participants in online health videos in AI and human conditions and their relationship with the intensity of social media use were investigated. Univariable and multivariable generalized linear models were used to explore the relationship between social media use and age stereotypes.

We obtained 294 and 300 valid questionnaires in phase I and phase II, respectively. In both AI and human conditions, there is a preference for health education conducted by older doctors. Older doctors were rated the most credible (median score 14·00, IQR [12·00, 15·00] in the condition of AI, median score 14·00, IQR [12·00, 15·00] in the condition of Human). Both univariable and multivariable generalized linear models revealed a significant negative association between social media use and age stereotypes, particularly between older and younger doctors (β = -0·34, p < 0.001). In the condition of AI. In the condition of human, the intensity of social media use is not related to participants' age stereotypes.

The image of AI doctors can help patients avoid being influenced by age stereotypes, enabling them to evaluate doctors' medical expertise more objectively.