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Generative AI (artificial intelligence) is a type of computer program that makes new content, like words, pictures, or sounds. It learns from lots of examples and finds patterns in the data, such as content on the Internet. You may have come across AI assistants or chatbots, like ChatGPT, CoPilot, Gemini and others, as you search for information about your health.
You may be reading AI-generated information when searching the internet. For example, Google provides an AI Overview for most searches using Gemini. In the image, I searched “What is Mayo Clinic Connect?”
By clicking the link icon, you can review where the chatbot got its information and check the accuracy of the newly presented information.
When you ask an AI assistant a question or give it a prompt, it looks at the data and then gives back answers or suggestions in plain language. But the information AI assistants give you isn’t always 100% accurate—it depends on the data it was trained on and how your question or prompt was worded.
How Can I Use Generative AI Safely?
Fact Check Everything
AI tools do not replace human judgment or oversight. Any text, image, or video generated by AI should be used only as a starting point, not as verified information. It may contain inaccuracies, biases, and other problems. Generative AI tools can sometimes generate plausible-sounding answers that are wrong.
- AI tools can sound sure, even when they’re wrong.
- Always check AI answers against trusted websites or books.
- Look for links or notes showing where the information came from.
Use Human Oversight
- Think of AI as your helper, not the final judge.
- Read and edit whatever the AI creates to fix mistakes or bias.
- If something seems odd or unfair, double-check with another source.
Ask for Sources
- You can tell your AI tool, “Please list your sources.”
- Check where this information came from.
Using AI on Mayo Clinic Connect
Mayo Clinic Connect is for sharing real health experiences and support. You do not need to use AI. If you share information from AI tools with the Mayo Clinic Connect community, please follow the guidance provided in the Community Guidelines.
You are responsible for the accuracy, originality and quality of your posts, whether a tool helped you or not. Here’s how to use AI the right way:
- Start with your own story and ideas. AI can add information but not replace you.
- If you use AI, use short AI quotes to back up your experience, not long AI essays.
- Do not use AI answers alone.
- Be open about your AI help. Say what question you asked or what prompt you used.
By doing this, you keep the conversations on Mayo Clinic Connect real, honest, and helpful for everyone.
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This is a fantastic overview of AI and offers remarkably helpful suggestions - thank you so much for putting this together in such an objective and understandable format!
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7 ReactionsIf you want to see the limitations of AI, look up your own name.
I got hilarious results!
Apparently my occupation is "food preparation". (Well, I did just make myself a sandwich...)
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10 ReactionsAt this point, AI should be treated with the same skepticism as we treat GPS and Google Maps, especially as we sometimes haplessly learned about 20 years ago. Some people lost literally everything, even their lives, relying on tech like GPS and driving assistance.
My own position is that AI is still an infant learning how to walk and to talk. This means I have to keep an eye on it all the time. Full time supervision, full time teaching, full time correction.
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6 ReactionsThank you for the update and lesson. Your contributions are right on. I cant imagine my day without AI. I know the data is sometimes skewed because it can pick up stuff opinions or information that was incorrect in the beginning. I strongly believe in being your own advocate. I found that most professionals when you start questioning their expertise immediately say where did you get that "google". But if I quote the author and the institution that sort of quiets the tone. I suffered from PMR and went to 3 different orthopedics and one GP. None of them had heard of PMR. These are educated people. I self diagnosed myself from AI. I had to go to a rheumatologist at Mayo to get my diagnosis. Your concerns are exactly right. This thread will now be part of AI.
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2 Reactions@colleenyoung Thank you for posting this for all of us. This About Connect offers a very clean explanation of what AI is and why all of us should read anything AI generates with skepticism.
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7 ReactionsAlong these lines, when I hear that companies have turned their software development over to AI, that's like handing a 9-year-old the car keys, a bottle of bourbon, all the credit cards, and a loaded machine gun and saying, "Go make us proud, son."
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5 ReactionsI certainly try to quote my firsthand experiences with a subject. I think that is important as we are not medical professionals and when we move from outside our own experiences with a subject we get into giving medical guidance or inferring medical expertise.
Sometimes I try to find words to accurately cite information I have posted from my personal experience. I also come across new treatments being offered that was not available when I had my treatments for a condition but list the specific cite which is always Mayo as that is where I am a patient.
If you add to your post (and I was doing this even this before reading guidance) with some clarification of where the information comes from is it okay to do that? I cite where I am getting the information that reflects my own experience like, WEBMC, Mayo, Cleveland Clinic, John Hopkins.
Is it okay with MCC if you give you peronal experience and then copy information from a source (identified) like WEBMD (doctors named attached), Mayo, Cleveland Clinic, John Hopkins, etc. echoing what your personal experience was.
I find those web sites and information on a subject much better on framing the correct use of words that I can.. For me I do not like studies done by non-major medical facilities. I do not read them nor cite them as have learned from reading some of them in past the different studies often contradict each other.
I have used A.I. called Co-Pilot but it is for things like the cars, treadmills, etc. Co-pilot gives a summary and then list web sites to access for more information. I like that in A.I. giving web sites to explore more information on a subject.
An example of how I use it: My wife and I could not understand the constant use and what it means the Rock, Paper, Scissors. I went on Co-Pilot, and it explained it. That was fine but then Co-Pilot wanted to know if I wanted to play as Rock, Scissor, Paper game against Co-Pilot. I just get baffled the A.I. that is out there these days from 20 years ago.
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2 ReactionsI don’t trust it. Who is putting the information that AI is using, fear false information will be given out.
Young people may not be able to question it or understand it.
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4 Reactions@minnesota10
Agree is you are talking anything about medical. It is a great source of information for other topic. I don't have any information on other A.I. other than Co-Pilot (Microsoft) but Co-Pilot lists the sources to learn about the subject after it gives a summary.
When you type in information into Google, asked Alexa, etc. those are also A.I. A.I. is now different it is who put the information into A.I. and where did it come from.
You can go to WEBMD and type in a search on a topic. Then WEBMD brings it up. Then WEBMD list the source of the information the doctors who provided it and their contact informataion.
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1 ReactionI don't trust it either, and certainly do not want to correspond with non-humans!
If this site eventually depends partially on robotic information, I will find other real sites.
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