Submitted by aml95 on Tue, 16/06/2026 - 00:00
Although AI is increasingly used in healthcare to improve efficiency and support clinical decision-making, we still know little about how people blame hospitals when something goes wrong when AI is involved.
Researchers from the IMS-MRL and Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge, working with colleagues in Canada and Australia, have found that people were more likely to hold hospitals responsible, file complaints, and consider legal action when an adverse event involved AI compared with when it involved only a human physician. However, these negative reactions were reduced when physicians were seen as actively and meaningfully collaborating with the AI, rather than simply relying on it.
Published in npj Digital Public Health, the two studies led by Jungmin Choi and Yeun Joon Kim highlighted the importance of maintaining visible and meaningful physician oversight in AI-supported care. They found that patients felt more comfortable with AI when physicians are clearly engaged in reviewing, interpreting, and validating AI recommendations rather than relying on AI alone.
Whereas previous studies have focused on the technical performance of AI or on patient attitudes toward AI in general, the findings from this research can potentially help healthcare organisations, policymakers, and developers better understand how to implement AI in ways that support both innovation and patient confidence and therefore has implications for hospital policy, clinical workflows, and communication with patients.
Reference: Choi, J., Kim, Y.J., Lyu, P. et al. Public reactions to hospitals after adverse events involving AI. npj Digit. Public Health 1, 17 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44482-026-00021-x
