Doctors using artificial intelligence are losing their ability to diagnose cancer

A new study led by the Medical University of Silesia in Poland and published in the journal The Lancet Gastroenterology and Hepatology has shown that AI- assisted colonoscopy, contrary to expectations, negatively impacts the performance of some doctors.

In the study, which examined the data of 19 doctors working in four endoscopy centers between September 2021 and March 2022, a 20 percent decrease was observed in adenoma (precancerous polyp) detection rates compared to the previous period after the introduction of AI systems.

It is defined as "skill atrophy"

The researchers described this phenomenon as "deskilling" and emphasized that, unlike previous clinical studies, this study provides the first concrete evidence from real-world applications. Researcher Yuichi Mori of the University of Oslo noted that human performance in previous trials may not have reflected the negative impact of continued AI use.

Omer Ahmad, an endocrinologist at University College London, said these findings are a warning against the rapid and uncritical adoption of AI technologies. Mori told Bloomberg that this skill loss is “likely to increase further” as AI improves.

While experts acknowledge that AI has high potential to improve clinical outcomes, they stress the need to prevent the silent erosion of core medical skills.