The AI colonoscopy tool rolled out across four health centers. As endoscopists snaked a camera through patients\u2019 large intestines, the algorithm would draw a square around precancerous polyps known as adenomas. The more adenomas detected and removed, the less likely the patient would go on to develop colon cancer.<\/p>\n
Researchers were interested in whether the AI could improve those adenoma detection rates. So they designed a trial: Half the time, endoscopists got to use the algorithm; the other half, they were on their own. But the researchers also took a look at a different question: Like students who try to write an essay independently after using ChatGPT one too many times, how well might doctors detect polyps without AI after they had gotten used to its help?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Not great. In the three months before the endoscopists started using the AI helper, they were finding adenomas in 28% of colonoscopies. After they had been using the AI for three months, the researchers found their unassisted adenoma detection rate fell significantly \u2014\u00a0to 22%. Researchers called their finding the first documentation of a potential \u201cdeskilling\u201d effect from clinical AI.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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