NIB researchers Dr Claire Lewis and Professor Jacqueline James along with Dr Lisa Graham-Wisener (School of Psychology, QUB) and Dr Jenny Groarke (School of Psychology, University of Galway) have published a first of its kind study investigating public attitudes and awareness of the use of AI in pathology research and practice.

The study team undertook a nationally representative, cross-sectional, web-based mixed methods survey (N=1518) to assess the UK public’s awareness of and views on the use of AI in pathology research and practice. They found that awareness was low, with only 23.19% (352/1518) of the respondents somewhat or moderately aware of AI being developed for use in pathology. Most did not support a diagnosis of cancer (908/1518, 59.82%) or a diagnosis based on biomarkers (694/1518, 45.72%) being made using AI only. However, most (1478/1518, 97.36%) supported diagnoses made by pathologists with AI assistance. The adjusted odds ratio (aOR) for supporting AI in cancer diagnosis and management was higher for men (aOR 1.34, 95% CI 1.02-1.75). Greater awareness (aOR 1.25, 95% CI 1.10-1.42), greater trust in data security and privacy protocols (aOR 1.04, 95% CI 1.01-1.07), and more positive beliefs (aOR 1.27, 95% CI 1.20-1.36) also increased support, whereas identifying more risks reduced the likelihood of support (aOR 0.80, 95% CI 0.73-0.89). Three main themes emerged from the qualitative data: bringing the public along, the human in the loop, and more hard evidence needed, indicating conditional support for AI in pathology with human decision-making oversight, robust measures for data handling and protection, and evidence for AI benefit and effectiveness.

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