The role of artificial intelligence-based tools like ChatGPT in higher education – A blessing or a curse? (Preprint)

UNSTRUCTURED Artificial intelligence (AI) has been gaining increasing attention in the field of medical education as a means to enhance the learning experience and improve patient outcomes. ChatGPT is a language trained AI chatbot developed by OpenAI that uses deep learning algorithms to generate a wide variety of text forms including essays, poems, protocols, abstracts, etc. based on the user’s input. Research suggests that AI-powered systems can provide personalized learning, simulated medical scenarios, and support for struggling students, which can increase the effectiveness of the learning process and help students better retain the information they are taught. Additionally, AI can assist academic faculty, clinicians, patients and medical students in multiple ways saving time. However, there are also potential challenges that need to be addressed, such as reliability of the information, ownership of the unintended consequences, ethical responsibility and loss of skills such as critical thinking, medical knowledge and memory. Therefore, it is important for medical schools to carefully consider the potential challenges and ensure that the use of AI technology is done in an ethical and responsible manner.