Assessment of the Attitude and Fears of the Physicians of Pakistan regarding Artificial Intelligence: a cross-sectional survey in 2024

Background and aim Artificial intelligence has emerged as a transformative tool in healthcare, enhancing diagnostic accuracy, advancing genetic studies, and improving personalized medicine by reducing human error. However, its integration also raises ethical concerns such as potential bias, privacy issues, and uncertainties over decision-making authority. This study aims to evaluate the attitudes and concerns of physicians regarding the use of AI in healthcare, and to explore how these perceptions may impact its implementation in clinical practice. Subject and methods We conducted a nation-wide cross-sectional study using an online questionnaire, based on standardized General Attitude Towards Artificial Intelligence Scale (GAAIS) and self-devised questions, aimed at collecting data about demographic details, attitude and fears of the physicians regarding AI. Using the convenience sampling technique, a sample of 393 physicians was selected. Independent-samples t-tests, one-way ANOVA, and multiple linear regression were used to analyze differences between variables. Results The overall attitude on positive subscale of GAAIS was above neutral ( mean= 3.46; SD=0.59) with men showing a significantly better attitude than women on this subscale (MD=0.22; CI:0.10-0.33; P =<0.001), while the attitude on negative subscale of GAAIS was slightly below neutral ( mean =2.76; SD=0.61). Some degree of fear regarding AI was also observed among physicians ( mean =2.66; SD=0.67). Conclusion Physicians have mixed views on AI, with concerns over ethical issues associated with it but not fearing replacement by it in near future. Men have a more positive attitude towards it. Integrating AI-focused curricula into medical education, along with conducting longitudinal and prospective studies, is essential to address physicians’ concerns and fully understand AI’s clinical impact.