ChatGPT: opportunities and risks in the fields of medical care, teaching, and research

Abstract

ChatGPT is a virtual assistant with artificial intelligence (AI) that uses natural language to communicate, i.e., it holds conversations as those that would take place with another human being. It can be applied at all educational levels, including medical education, where it can impact medical training, research, the writing of scientific articles, clinical care, and personalized medicine. It can modify interactions between physicians and patients and thus improve the standards of healthcare quality and safety, for example, by suggesting preventive measures in a patient that sometimes are not considered by the physician for multiple reasons. ChatGPT potential uses in medical education, as a tool to support the writing of scientific articles, as a medical care assistant for patients and doctors for a more personalized medical approach, are some of the applications discussed in this article. Ethical aspects, originality, inappropriate or incorrect content, incorrect citations, cybersecurity, hallucinations, and plagiarism are some examples of situations to be considered when using AI-based tools in medicine.