--- title: "Microsoft Alarmed at Doctors Using ChatGPT to Tell Patients Bad News" description: "Doctors using ChatGPT to communicate with patients in a more empathetic way and even tell them about bad news." date: "2023-06-12" modified: "2023-06-12" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/microsoft-doctors-chatgpt-patients" categories: - "Developments" - "Health & Medicine" tags: - "chatgpt" - "OpenAI" --- # Microsoft Alarmed at Doctors Using ChatGPT to Tell Patients Bad News ![Doctors using ChatGPT to communicate with patients in a more empathetic way and even tell them about bad news.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* Doctors are using OpenAI's ultra-popular AI chatbot ChatGPT in a surprising new way, the [*New York Times* reports](): to communicate with patients more empathetically. In other words, they're using a chatbot to appear more human — a fascinating contradiction that sheds light on the difficulties of balancing the importance of objective medical guidance with human compassion. Some medical professionals, according to the report, are even using ChatGPT to deliver bad medical news, which is something that even Microsoft, a company that's closely collaborating with OpenAI, isn't so sure about. "As a patient, I’d personally feel a little weird about it," Peter Lee, Microsoft corporate vice president for research and incubations, told the *NYT*. One advantage of using ChatGPT, some experts claim, is that it can be used to explain simple concepts void of confusing jargon. "Doctors are famous for using language that is hard to understand or too advanced," Christopher Moriates, who worked on a project that used ChatGPT to inform patients of available treatments for alcohol use disorder, told the *NYT*. "It is interesting to see that even words we think are easily understandable really aren’t." Others took things even further. Gregory Moore, who until recently was a senior executive leading health and life sciences at Microsoft, told the newspaper that he was blown away after asking ChatGPT for advice on how to help a friend with advanced cancer. But not everybody agrees that using a chatbot to replace the most human part of your profession is a good idea. For one, patients [place a lot of value]() on compassion when evaluating the healthcare they receive. Having that empathy replaced with a tool that [infamously can't distinguish]() between right and wrong could make the situation a lot worse — especially if it were to be used to *make* medical decisions. "I know physicians are using this," Stanford Health Care's Dev Dash, who is evaluating tools like ChatGPT in a healthcare setting, told the *NYT*. "I’ve heard of residents using it to guide clinical decision-making. I don’t think it’s appropriate." Whether patients are aware they're being communicated to by a chatbot remains to be seen. But does that really matter when it's not a life and death situation? It's the kind of thorny ethical conundrum we'll likely be grappling with for quite some time. **More on ChatGPT:** *[OpenAI CEO Says He Loses Sleep Over Decision to Release ChatGPT]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()